


Place Called Home

by Novirp13



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist, Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: But first couple of chapters are not beta yet, Don't worry I already have my beta, Fluff and Angst, Okumura Rin Needs a Hug, Protective Sawada Tsunayoshi, Protective Tenth Generation's Guardians, so please bear with my atrocious grammars mistakes for a bit TwT
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-15 20:41:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 44,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13621290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Novirp13/pseuds/Novirp13
Summary: Is it selfish of him for wishing of someone to accept him as the way he is? That he's a demon, that he's Satan's son?As Rin ran away from Gehenna, he entered a big door with seven flames and realized that he was not in Gehenna anymore'Would you like to stay with me and my family?' the spiky brown haired teen offered with a smile





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just like what I said on the tags, I already have my beta cuz I posted this on my fanfiction account before. So don't worry. Though they started at...chapter 3 or 4? I don't really remember. Please, bear with my atrocious grammars for a bit `3`

_I remember that day_

_._

"Somebody! Anyone!  _Help me_!"

.

 _That day, when_ that  _disaster happened._

.

"Hahaha! Yes!  _Yes_! Keep shouting like that! Keep begging like that! Though you knew that nobody will come to help you anyway! Hahaha!"

.

_That day, when I lost everything._

.

Rin kept struggling, those electric blue eyes shone with fear, desperate, disgust, anger, guilt, guilt,  _guilt_. His hands flailing, trying to grasp the Kurikara hilt that embedded so deep in the pavement, something,  _everything_! Everything to keep himself from drowning, drowning to, whatever place, behind this disgusting, black bubbles of Gehenna Gate.

Yukio—no, it was not  _him_. It was Satan, That  _Satan_! The one who killed Fujimoto, the demon who  _killed_  his father (In the back of his mind, someone or maybe himself, said, " _Satan is your father, you know. Your biological,_ real  _father. Stop deluding yourself!_ ")—his twin figure stood with all his almighty aura. Blue flames—the same blue flames that always reminded him of his curse heritage, that they are Satan's  _son_ —sprouting from every inch of his body, like those annoying weeds that always kept Shiemi busy in her flower garden; some of it took a shape of a moon-like wings with two balls accompanying each one. He laughed, laughed like a madman, showing his sharp, white fangs. His dark brown tail, that just grew some times ago, swishing happily behind his back. Satan, the same Satan who killed his friends— _their friends_ , his mentors— _their mentors,_  his father— _their father,_ with just a flick of one finger, shooting condensed blue flames to their fragile body, ending their life within just a second. And he just laughed. Laughed, laughed, laughed,  _laughed_ —

—before it  _stops_. Too abruptly, it caught Rin off guard.

.

_When I lost my home, my friends…_

.

"No…" it started with croak voice. Yukio's light, blue eyes—the same color with Rin, the same color with Satan—turned to his original one; dark, brown eyes. His quivering body clutched the black gun with too much power, his knuckle turned white. Slowly,  _slowly_ but surely he pointed his gun—Yukio's gun—to his own temple.

That time, Rin realized. He realized that that figure whose coated with blue flames is not Satan who possessed Yukio's body anymore. But he is Yukio; just Yukio. The same Yukio who taught him and his friends about demon and exorcist. The same Yukio who always nagged him to finished his homework. The same Yukio who, in every once of midnight, will woke up abruptly from a nightmare with bloodcurdling scream (Rin asked in one of those night terror of his, what kind of nightmare he had. But Yukio just cried. Cried like when he was still a little child; like his old, crybaby Yukio) and Rin would hug him, soothed him with a small reassurance whisper, stay by his side until he fell asleep. The same Yukio that is his twin, his younger brother, and always will be. Rin's relieved face turned into one of horror when he realized that the gun's barrel still pointed to his head.

"Yukio, what are you doing?" again, he starts struggling, "Stop! Stop it, Yukio!"

But he smiled. Despite Rin's desperate yelling, despite Rin's desperate begging, Yukio just smiled, "This is it, Nii-san. This is the only way."

.

_His mentor's death face flashed—_

Rin's blue eyes widened, "no, Yukio. I don't want…"

_His friends' death face flashed—_

"…I don't want…"

 _His_ father _death face flashed—_

"I don't want to lose you too, Yukio!"

.

.

Those electric blue eyes shone with fear, desperate, disgust, anger, guilt, guilt,  _guilt_ —

.

.

"I'm a worse  _brother,_  huh?" vaguely, he could hear Satan's desperate voice, coming from Yukio's mouth, ordered him to stop. He could hear his own voice asking him, begging him to  _stop_! But despite all of that, Rin could hear it very clearly; Yukio's voice. Full of sadness, full of sorrow, full of  _guilt_ , while his index finger pressed the gun's trigger slowly, "I'm sorry…nii-san…"

"I couldn't stay by your side anymore…"

.

_My brother…_

.

_DOR_

The last thing he saw was his younger brother's body whose falling, so slowly, so scary! With the face that still maintained his sad smile before everything turned dark.

.

.

—before every light from his beautiful, blue eyes faded away.

.

_And my life as a human being…is over._

_._

* * *

Black clouds and a bunch of bird-like creatures with the same colors—because with his enhanced eyesight, no matter what, a bird with too large bat-like wings and too many big yellow eyes cannot be called 'a bird'—sauntered freely across the purple sky. Tall, black trees without leaves sprouted so high from inside the cracked, dried land, with a batch of brown bushes surrounded the barren garden, " _this is Gehenna_ " the blue-haired teen mused, his tail swishing lazily on top of his king-size bed, watching the never changing view from the double window.

Two years had passed since  _that day_ ; since he lost  _everything_  (his home, his friends, his family,  _Yukio…_ ) since Satan brought him to Gehenna, his _new_  home (prison, hell, hell,  _hell_ ). Satan's form in Gehenna was a man with unkempt, dark blue hair that reached his shoulder. He had the same electrical blue eyes like Rin, same blue flames surrounded almost half of his body; with some of it formed a shape of two horns on top of his head. The first time he saw his enemy (never,  _ever_  he called him  _father_! Never!), Rin lashed out. He let out a loud roar—like an enraged lion, like a lonely cub demanding his family back (his father, his brother)—and leaped at the man with his sharped nails coated with blue flames. But Satan stops him before he could reach his throne immediately, thrown Rin across the room with just a swipe of his black tail. They sat like that for hell-knows-how-long; Satan stared at his son with a blank look, while Rin hugging his knees near chest level as he let out a small whimper, tears began flowing from his closed eyes. He didn't remember much after that whole fiasco. He just knew that Satan called someone—likely his other son—to showed Rin his room, now that he will stay here. And other than that, everything was a blur.

"Rin." He was startled from his musing and tensed however, as a calm, soothing voice reached his demon hearing. From the big mirror that hung on the wall in front of him, he could saw a reflection of a pale man in twenty. His straight, light blue hair flowed like waves, reaching his waist. He was wearing a white yukata, a robe made of water that has the same color as his hair draped over it and a small white tiara circling his head, it emitted bubbles of water. He is Egyn, the demon king of water, Satan's fourth son. He was one of a demon who treated Rin's nicely beside Mephisto and Amaimon (although the latter done it unwillingly. If not, Mephisto will never buy him his favourite candies from Assiah anymore), Egyn's silver eyes watched Rin's back and sighed, "Rin, dinner will be ready in a minute. You should change your attire now."

" _Ah…today is the day huh?_ " once in three months, Satan demanded every one of his sons to came back from whatever place they may be and held a family dinner. Mephisto was no exception, despite his tight schedules and some of the demons treated him like a traitor for forming a school of exorcist, meddling Satan's plan for uniting both worlds into one. That was the day Rin dreaded most. He didn't want to meet his older brothers (no in Gehenna way that he will call them his brothers out loud. His only brother is (was) Yukio. And always will be) especially Iblis and Astaroth. The demon king of fire tended to act cool but was angered easily, while the demon king of rot still had a grudge on Fujimoto, his father, for exorcising him at the first day they met, thus their relationship didn't bode very well (he didn't want to have any siblings relationship with them in the first place anyway, so he didn't mind).

"Oh well…must finish it quickly." He snapped his finger and his clothes changed within a second; from his white shirt and black short to the same outfit like Egyn but with different color—light blue yukata and dark blue robe made of his flames—and a small light blue tiara on top of his unruly hair, it emitted bright blue flames. 

Satan wanted every one of his children to wear formal clothing in this sacred family dinner, thus making them wearing similar attire with a different color, depending on each of their own attributes. Though Rin and maybe, Iblis also, actually hate wearing traditional clothing of Japan (why Japan? He didn't know) they had to comply albeit begrudgingly

Besides, he didn't want to provoke Iblis's thin patience because of his tardiness. There was a time Iblis snapped because of Rin's ignorance attitude toward him, and before he knew it, the dining room was burned down by the swirling of red and blue flames, it was so beautiful like an aurora and at the same time, so dangerous; look like Satan countered his fourth son flames with his own so he cannot harm Rin, or worse, killed him. Without his Kurikara, that was left in Assiah—after the big war between demons and exorcists, the latter forming a very big seal around the world, thus Satan couldn't send his underling to retrieved it (Mephisto refused to do the task, because he was on a constant watch of Grigori and co.)--Rin cannot utilize his full power, that means he was still half human half demon. And, as much as he hates it, he is the weakest among the nine sons of Satan.

They walked in silence as they passed through the empty hallways. Satan's castle, much to Rin's astonishment, very much like True Cross Academy (perhaps that was where Mephisto got his ideas about the school design? He knew it, Mephisto didn't have any fashion taste at all) albeit the king of every demon's house color was dark. They passed through the small window that is face to face with a fountain of purple water in a barren backyard— _the same place Rin and his friends always had a lunch_. They passed through a not-to-wide-but-not-to-small-either empty room with unused chairs and tables— _the same place Rin and his friends studied about demon and exorcist, and_ Yukio _as their teacher_.

Before they halted abruptly, Rin staring blankly at the man in twenty-three or so standing in front of the double door, his right hand hanging on the doorknob. He has a grey hair with black tips reaching his shoulder. Wearing a black yukata with light grey robe dangled over the tiled floor, as a small grey tiara that emitted gust of wind hung on top of his unruly hair, "brother Azazel. What are you doing over there?" asked Egyn to the demon king of spirit and wind, while the third son of Satan just shuffled his foot awkwardly; his droopy black-grey eyes looking at everything but the younger brother of his.

"I wanna ask the chef what kind of food he will make tonight. 'M hungry already…"

Rin eyed those two demons, especially Azazel. He never saw him much, other than when he was hungry or they held a family dinner. Now that he thought about it… so basically Azazel came out from, whatever place he had been, only if it concerned about foods. He reminds him of Amaimon and his obsession with candy and sugar too much.

They then proceed into the dining room, aware of another presence that sat at the corner of the long, rectangle table with his hands fold around his chest. He was a man of twenty-eight, although his white, silky skin betrayed his real ages. His shiny, blonde hair pulled into a neat pony-tail that reached his back. He is wearing a bright orange yukata with white, long robe made of light—it looks transparent—and a small yellow tiara that shined like a sun hung on his head lazily. Rin noted that that man is Lucifer, the second son of Satan, the demon king of light. He almost never spoke, so he didn't know how his voice sound. The said Lucifer didn't bat an eyelash as he just nodded slightly, recognizing his three young brothers before he closed his eyes, continuing his musing.

Or maybe he just fell asleep.

 _Sometimes_ , Rin though,  _I agree with Yukio that older brother tended to be the childish one._

* * *

Rin didn't remember much about anything that had happened during that time. For the start, he vaguely remember that Mephisto and Amaimon didn't come to the family dinner; Satan's first son told him that they had an exorcist meeting and couldn't come in time, while Satan's eight son disappeared without any notice—maybe he just went to mini market to stock another bag of candy, Rin snorted. Surprisingly, Satan didn't complain and allowed his two rebellious sons to do whatever they want. He also vaguely remembers Iblis bragged about his awesomeness in defeating the exorcist to Astaroth, while the latter replied with similar boasting, though Rin knew better that they were simply exaggerating the story itself. He chewed the meat slowly—demon meat, he noted. The first time he realized what kind of meat he just ate, Rin blanched and he bolted out like a thunder to the bathroom, throwing up and emptying his stomach immediately; prompting a brash, cruel laughter by the one, and almighty demon king of flame (Rin scoffed)—and darted his blue orbs to the empty chair in front of him absentmindedly. The chair should be filled by Yukio presence, but…

"Oi, half human! Whatcha thinking about with that small brain of yer?!" Rin flinched and knew right away who had just called him— _speak of the devil and he shalt come_. Rin stared at the red-haired man with sharp fiery eyes. He was wearing a red-black yukata with red robe shone like a bonfire and a small indigo tiara that emitted red flames draped on top of his spiked hair. The sixth son of Satan, seethed as his face turned into one of his famous scowls, "ignoring me again, ya brat?"

"Is it about your stupid twin, huh?" Iblis said another mocking taunt when he realized that his youngest brother staring at the lone, empty chair. Rin eyes widened, his body shook.

"Iblis…" Egyn tried to reprimand his brother.

"What, brother Egyn? I'm not wrong, right? His twin is stupid. Like, really stupid!" he laughed boisterously as Rin clenched his knuckles too strong, his nails pierced the white, milky palm, "who, in the right mind, shoot himself so he could save his friends—oh wait they are dead. So he could save his older brother from the hell—oh wait he  _is_ in the hell already, yeah? And he was just a human! Father's son, a  _mere_  human?! Hah! What a disgrace! He really should just d—"

.

DUAK

.

Oh, but Rin remember this scene very, very clearly; when he stood up from his chair and landed a strong punch to his 'older brother' disgusting face. His flames burned brightly, ears turned long, fangs became sharper and his tails lashed from beneath his light blue yukata, swishing furiously. Rin could feel a tear forming on the corner of his electric blue eyes—that was dull, but shone with full of anger now, "never, ever…" he gritted, trying to suppress his wild flames that demanded him to be let out,  _let out!_  "..called my brother STUPID again! YOU HEAR ME?!"

"What the fuck?" Iblis stood up, swiping small trail of blood from his mouth, "you dare PUNCHED ME?!"

But before he could send a counter-attack and teach the youngest one to respect the elder, a horde of bugs flew between them, blocking their view toward each other, "stop it, you two." They heard a hoarse voice, belonging to a teen with turquoise hair that curled like a seaweeds reaching his back; maybe he was three or four years old than Rin. He wears a light green kimono and, in lieu of the missing long robe like his every brothers' had, a horde of dark green bugs flew over his body and took a form of a scarf, a small tiara emitted black thunder crackled madly. He is Beelzebub, the demon king of insect, the fifth son of Satan. His violet-green eyes look over at the two demons that, in any minutes will kill each other right here, right now if his underlings (insects) didn't stand on their way, "Iblis, you should know by now what kind of punishment you will get if you attack your own kind, especially, your own brother, hm?"

Iblis flinched and realized his mistakes, as he turned his head oh so very slowly to the front of the dinner table; looking at his almighty father who is watching the entire mayhem with his calculating, cold, blue eyes like a hawk.

"Iblis." Another flinched, "go to your room."

"B-But…father—"

_ "Now." _

Iblis gritted his teeth and tch'ed, before he disappeared in a cluster of dark, red flames. Rin turned his heels toward the big, double door but stopped himself as he heard Satan's low voice calling his name, "where are you going? Dinner's not finished yet."

Rin knows how angry Satan will be if someone refused to obey his order; and he knows that his brothers are showing him their best pleading look right now, asking him to sit down and enjoyed the not-to-pleasant dinner (and the bloodlust in the air is so thick, it suffocating). But with Yukio had been mention by someone that took on the second place from 'the most disgusting person (or in this case, demon) that he hates very much' list—a really forbidden topic for the blue-haired teen, Rin lost his appetite. He is angry, he is furious, he is… _tired_ ; tired of being constantly reminded about his twin, tired of being constantly reminded about his death, Yukio's death (my fault, my fault,  _my fault!_ ). Why couldn't they just leave him? Why couldn't they just. Leave. Him. Alone?!

"No thanks." Rin growled, his unique, blue flames flared, lightening the entire room, "seeing those crap of foods irritated me to no end."  _And your face too_. Before he closed the door with a loud bang.

* * *

He kicked the door open and stomped in, snapped his finger loudly—his attire changed back to a white shirt and black short—and flopped onto the king-size bed, watching another unchanging scenery from the window. He is sure that Satan ransacked the dining room with his famous blue flames right now, and his older brothers tried to evacuate themselves before they bear an unwanted injury(ies) on their body. Well, he didn't care. He could burn the entire manor if he wants and Rin wouldn't budge. It was not like he has any place to go. Not many demons (or humans either) want to accept the sons of satan inside their haven, didn't want to sustain a permanent mental or psychic shock, either from their unique power or their mere existence in their peaceful life. He didn't care. After all that nightmare from two years ago, he stops to care; about other people opinions, about his wellbeing, about—

.

_Rin hugged Yukio close to him as he rubbed circle on his back, hearing his twin outburst that slowly morphed into small hiccups, "don't leave me…"_

_._

" _Don't leave me alone…nii-chan."_

.

—how it feels to protect someone that you care.

Because that 'someone' is already gone.

"I know you don't have any manner, but I don't know you are this clueless." Rin flinched and whipped his head too fast—that he was sure he had a whiplash just now—before he let out a small, relieve breath when he realized who was the culprit that should be held responsible for giving him a shock, "if you couldn't detect demon presence because you were too fed up with something, it'll bite you in the back someday"

Rin changed his position to a more comfortable one, glaring at the purple haired man as he smiles his creepy smile, his famous curly burn peeked from beneath his tall, white hat, "stop sneaking up on me, Mephisto. Do you want your youngest brother (insert 180-degree roll eyes here) die from a heart attack?"  _if I still have a heart, that is_  Rin mused dryly.

"Now, now, my dear. That kind of attack will not kill you right away, as you are the most stubborn person and demon I ever encountered." The teen snorted like he always did when he is chatting with his ex-headmaster. The old Rin will surely throw him a snarky remark, a splutter response and maybe a punch or two. Then again, he was not the same, old Rin. The 'Rin' that he knew before is already dead; it was just in the past. Now, he is more like a doll; a lifeless doll with strings attached on every one of its joints, never have its own will. Mephisto hop from the wall, approaching Rin and watched his dull, blue glass eyed his graceful movement thoroughly; his pink umbrella clacking noisily on the tiled floor, "now, Rin. I know you don't trust me, but I want to give you a special offer."

"What kind of 'offer'?" knowing Mephisto, it was maybe for his own amusement. Don't have any benefit to him.

"Do you want to go back to Assiah?"

.

.

.

Time went still as Rin absorbed every word that came out from Mephisto mouth. His jaw dropped like a gaping fish, didn't believed anything that he had just heard, "wha—"

"And I have your Kurikara too." His wide eyes grew even wider as Mephisto produced his sword from out of nowhere (this is Mephisto he talks about, the demon king of time). The sword of his still in a good condition as before, didn't seem like something that had been lost over the past two years. Don't tell him that Mephisto had his sword all this time? And he didn't give it back to the right owner? Rin opened his mouth, tried to retort his usual snarky banter or at least ask the oldest brother why did he keep his mouth shut all this time. Then promptly closed it again, as he realized that it didn't matter anymore; and he was sure that the first son of satan will answer his question with twisting riddles that make him more confused than before. Mephisto merely twirled the umbrella before it rested on his shoulder, "I already set a seal on every door of my brothers' room, and I'm sure they will realize it sooner or later."

"So." Mephisto offered the black sword to the half-demon face, showing him the biggest smile/smirk he had as realization dawned upon the blue-haired teen, "what's your choice?"

.

" _Nii-san…" Rin hummed as he prepared the bed, Yukio sat on his own staring at hot chocolate that his older brother made to calm his nerve down; another night terror of his, "will you promise me, that no matter what happens…"_

.

He watched as those electrical, dull eyes, that finally after he-knows-how-long had passed, shone with something other than emptiness and loneliness—

.

" _That no matter what happens, you will stay alive. You promise me…nii-chan?"_

.

—it full of determination.

.

" _Yeah, I promise…"_

.

.

_That I'll keep fighting._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I'm not rushing Rin's brother characteristic description too much. Why did Lucifer, Egyn, and Beelzebub faces look like a girl when I tried to draw them? And I forget to mention Astaroth in this chapter, but oh well. Just imagine the bully Astaroth possessed in anime, you know it (what a lazy author) :v
> 
> Oh, and I'm gonna followed the anime base story. I don't read the manga and didn't wish to do so in the near future. I'm not satisfied with the anime ending, but I don't have the same interest in watching the anime when I read the manga either.


	2. Chapter 2

There was one night in one of those night terror of Yukio that Rin remembered. That day, the moon was full, its yellow light illuminated the lonely bedroom of them, night breeze gently kissing their skin. As a good big brother (though lately, their role was reversed) Rin prepared a hot chocolate with two teaspoons of honey, his little brother favorite beverage, for the sake of calming the now wet Yukio due to sweating profusely. His pale lips turn up slightly. As he mumbled a small 'thank you' he sipped the hot drink slowly, enjoying every drop of hot chocolate on the surface of the pink tongue.

They sat in silence for who-knows-how-long, staring at the sowing stars on the dark horizon without clouds. Rin glanced at his younger brother face from the corner of his electric blue eyes. That face that should have been younger than him (just for a couple of minutes though, because they're twins), now instead look more mature; the face that long had know how cruel the world was, that long had know how he could lose someone dear to him with just a blink of eyes. How was it possible, that Rin who always stay by his side—at least until they grew up—not realizing his little brother changes? Was it because he was always overshadowing Yukio? Always protected him when he was in trouble? Without trying to let him grow into an independent boy/man, trying to give him moral support to stand on his own ground? Each time when those thoughts crossed his mind, Rin gnashed his teeth. He should've realized it.  _I should've realized it_! But…it was too late. Now Father Fujimoto was long gone.

_All was because of my fault. Because of my existence._

"Nii-san. What are you thinking?"

Rin snapped up, startled when Yukio's soft voice reached his hearing. Maybe he knew what was his big brother thinking, those light brown orbs turned sad and his lips bent down, "you're still blaming yourself, Nii-san?"

Rin shifted his gaze awkwardly, he found that the floor look more enticing as Yukio now eyeing him, scrutinizing him; like those eyes could see till the deepest of his heart, "but…wasn't it true?" He tightened his grip on the white mug with blue planes as it decorations—a gift from Fujimoto (his father,  _their father_ ) for their ten years old birthday. His old guilt overwhelmed Rin's whole body, "if it weren't for  _that time_ , Dad must have been still alive right now."

That time, when he shouted right at his father's face; when he said 'stop acting like you are my father because you. Are.  _NOT!_ ', when he should've known that his father was doing this for his own sake, for his own sane. His father heart would not waver. Then Satan couldn't possess his father's body ( _I told you to stop deluding yourself! Satan is your father! Your brother and your_ real _father!_ His other self—maybe his demon side—reminded him again, again, and  _again_! He is so  _sick_  of it!), Then father would still be alive and kicking right now; would still scold him because of his carelessness, laugh with him, cry with him. But…those sweet, precious moment will stay as mere memories. It will never come true. Now—

—or  _ever_.

"Rin, do you remember what Father said?" Yukio asked, as his fingers stroked the surface of his white mug with brown planes as it decoration, the same one like Rin have, but with different color (his father face flashed in his mind. The old man showed them his grin as both of his foster sons thanked him for the gift, as Yukio showed him his widest smile), "human life is always in constant changing, never in the same path. No matter young or old, if God asked us to return to His side, we cannot do anything about it."

"Everything that happens is destiny, Although humans ("but I  _am_  a demon! Wait, scratch that. I am a half-demon", "Let me continue, Nii-san", "Sorry") trying their best as much as possible to avoid it, destiny remains destiny. I think Dad realized when the time you know about your heritage come, that something is bound to happen; be it good or bad. I knew, that time, I said that father's death was your fault." Rin flinched, his body shrank, "but, Nii-san. I said those cruel things so that you knew every human being is not perfect. Every people will have their own flaws."

Yukio observed Rin's face, who now looks like he was trying his best to held his tears for flowing but to no avail, intently (this is what he meant about their reversed role. He should be the one who comforted Yukio, he was the one who had a nightmare really, not the other way around). And he smiled, "So, Nii-san. Whatever happens, you've got to keep living. For dad—"

.

.

"— _and for me too."_

* * *

The Kurikara sword was tightly wrapped around his light blue shirt with the grey sweater draped over the black trouser. Black tail swaying violently to the right and left, a sign that he was anxious. His blue orbs tracing every corner of Satan's castle that lightened by the fluorescent blue lamp, his flames. When he felt like the coast was clear, Rin moves out from his hiding place and stepped his foot onto the marble tile as softly as possible—because his older brothers have a very sharp hearing; well, their bat-like pointed ears are not just decoration, mind you. Almost all of this house residents woke up (except for the stupid, clueless Astaroth) even for a small noise like a falling nedlee—headed for the exit that had been prepared by Mephisto; it was located in the cellar.

To be honest, Rin doesn't believe him. How come? Every benevolences that Mephisto did was not simply because he is willing to do so. Every choices he made was just to satisfy his endless enjoyment; At that time when he chose to help Fujimoto to hide his brother and his own birth, at that time when he chose to let Rin attended exorcist school and became one of them, at that time when he chose to help him negotiated so he didn't get executed by Grigori and co. And seeing his ex-headmaster face reminded him of that tragedy again and again; when Satan came to Assiah to killed his friends— _killed_  his little brother!—and almost destroying the world (his home,  _their's home_!), Mephisto absolutely didn't lend his hand to help. At. All! And after all this time, after all of every tortures Rin had to face when he stayed at this so-called home (or in his case,  _hell_. Like it was supposed to be), he has to believe that… _that_  menacing, two-faces clown? Of course, he would refuse to do so, it was just that—

.

" _Keep living"_

_._

—he promised Yukio. A  _very_  important promise.

And he couldn't waste his chance; his  _only_ chance.

"Where are you going, lil bro?"

Rin stopped on his track, his demon's instinct flared up dangerously. And he swerved, blocking the upcoming attack with his Kurikara still in its sheath. He was pushed back due to the strong pressure. Green leaves flew around inside the narrow hallway and some of them stuck on his unkempt, dark blue hair. Bright blue flames automatically lit in every inch of Rin's body, as he bared his sharp fangs to the one who just surprise-attacked him, pissed off, "Screw you, Amaimon!" he snarled.

The said Amaimon in his full-demon form stood in all his glory. His face never showed any emotions never failed to make Rin fed up, " _nee_ …lil bro, are you trying to escape?" he asked, still with his famous blank expression, as he thrust a pointed root toward Rin, "If you go, Father will be angry, y'know?"

Rin unsheathed his Kurikara and cut the frail root into two, "to hell with Satan's stupid mood. I'm gonna get out of here!" he exclaimed and he moves as fast as lightning, swung Kurikara's blade to Amaimon's root-shape body. The green haired teen deflected his simple move easily with a big trunk that suddenly sprouted out from beneath the floor and counter-attack it with another pointed root.

"why do you want to escape, lil bro? You don't like staying here with us? With your brothers?"

"Of course not, oh my stupid, _dear_  big bro!" his voice is full of sarcasm—left, right, another attack,  _duck_ , swerved to the right, another counter-attack. He was tired of being cooped up like a broken bird! He wants to be free! Like those time, when he could laugh for the smallest thing, cried like any other human being. With his friends, with his brother— _with Yukio_ , with his father— _with Fujimoto_ , "I'll leave this disgusting place and will never come back! And you guys can enjoy your  _fucking_ life in this  _fucking_ hell, without me of course. Okay? Okay! So  _get out of my way!"_

"So, that's what your choice, huh?" Amaimon leaped backward as he produced another wall made from wood. It receded back, leaving a small branch with two leaves sprouted from between the crack of the floor. And Amaimon was back to his human form, leaning on the black wall as he inspected his nails, like all of that fiasco one minute before didn't happen at all, "then you can go."

_"Huh?!"_

"Didn't you hear me? Should I spell it one by one to you. You. Can. Go." His droopy eyes stared at Rin's gaping face, still shocked from how anticlimactic this entire situation was, "I'm with Aniki's side, y'know? I wanna see you back in Assiah. The 'you' now is not fun…without your Kurikara and without your flames, I couldn't even have a spar with you properly. Now that I already fought you—and it looks like your skill didn't turn rusty at all—I'm satisfied enough. Oh, but If I wanna fight you in the near future, you have to gladly accept it. 'cause that was my only deal with Aniki. And that's why I let you go right now."

"Come on now…before I changed my mind." Amaimon snapped his finger and a big, black hole formed beneath Rin feet. Without his footing and because of this surprise attack, Rin didn't even have time to scream before his whole being swallowed by the darkness. Amaimon look over the hole whose slowly morphed back to a small dot, now his eyes shone with a playful glint, "I'll see you  _again,_  lil bro."

* * *

Mephisto hummed softly as he twirled his pink umbrella, white pointed shoes clacking noisily on top of the grey tile. His demon hearing caught every little sound inside the big manor; from the sounds of splitting wood and a sword that got pulled out from its scabbard, the sound of someone trying to escape the locked door but failed and the raging flames—he himself could even feel the heat even though he was two buildings away, showing that one of his little brother was going crazy because someone  _dared_  locked him inside his own room and he couldn't even teleport out of it—and that person got to be Iblis of course, the most temperamental demon he ever knew—and the eldest son of the ruler of demon world was still smiling. Even when the suddenly bright light that shaped like a bullet threatened to blinded his two eyes, flew as fast as lighting right in front of his face, Mephisto just tilted his head slightly, letting the attack flew by himself and crashed the window on the end of the corridor. His good mood didn't dampen at all.

"Oh, hello Lucifer." He called out with made-up excitement, "nice seeing you again. How are you?"

The blonde man just kept silent. His ears turned long, golden tail peeking from beneath his pajamas and his yellow orbs shone brightly, lightening the whole dark hallway. His hand holding a long, sturdy spear, its blades coated with orange and yellow light. As he stomped his right foot, Lucifer's body launched ahead so fast, his spear gleaming under the moonlight splitting the air. Mephisto opened his umbrella, blocking the second son's of Satan sight only for a moment. And in a few seconds of his confusion, the sly clown pulled out the hidden sword and gave his own attack to his attacker. Lucifer duck, his signature light flared and it morphed into an invisible spear, making the tip of the blade became longer and he thrust. It was a swift attack and Mephisto, fortunately, expected this—he was the one who taught Lucifer how to handle his weapon anyway. With no effort, he blocked the spear with his own sword that almost hit him at the side of his face.

"Hey, little brother what's wrong?" Mephisto smirked, "do you want to spar with me that much? Why don't we chat a bit first, hm?"

But Lucifer didn't want to hear any of his big brother bullshit right now. So, as his hand was occupied with holding Mephisto attack, he uses his leg and sliced toward him. But again, Mephisto realized this and he hopped over it, maneuvered his body mid-air so he wouldn't end up sprawled on the floor, pushing his left arms to catch himself and backflip onto his feet, giving a distance between them both. Lucifer didn't give him much rest, as he rushed forward for the second time. The spear missing Mephisto by a couple of centimeters. He had to duck quickly under another swung and spin out of range before the demon king of light could corner him. They kept at it for a while; Lucifer attacking, Mephisto defending—he himself sometime counter-attacking Lucifer fast movement, although he often withholding those attacks or flee to another area.

Again and again, Lucifer struck precisely with powerful moves, cracking the ground in several places where his weapon met dirt instead of flesh. His calm face that he managed until now finally cracked, as his eyebrows twitched at another futile attempt to injured his brother. And Mephisto smirked grew larger. Lucifer finally stop—for a second, Mephisto thought to sheath his weapon back but he decided against it. Lucifer was known of his prowess in fast and efficiently killing. And his light didn't dim for even a bit, meaning that this fight is still ongoing—and narrowed his eyes, giving every of his victim but Mephisto a creep.

"I'm bored, y'know? What's wrong with a little entertainment?" Mephisto answered Lucifer's silent question, spreading his hand for emphasizing the word 'entertainment'. He knew Lucifer almost never spoke to anyone besides his father but Mephisto understands what he was supposed to say with those eyes alone, "you know how boring it is if you have to stay at home without doing anything, hm? I just want to give him a little bit of freedom, that is."

He stood soundlessly for a minute before he shook his head, 'father will be mad' those eyes said, as Lucifer then charged forward, with the spear drawn to the fore.

* * *

Rin's eyelash fluttered open and the first thing he saw was an endless darkness. He bolted up from his position quickly, then flailed helplessly as he realized that his feet didn't touch anything—rather, he floated; like an astronaut who landed on the moon that he saw in his father's documentary film (Fujimoto,  _not_  Satan), or like coal tar who flew around aimlessly, following wherever the wind took them. Dark. It was too dark. He could barely saw his hand that he was sure he held it up in front of his face. If his sword that contained half of his demonic power didn't clasp so tightly between his sweaty palm, he was sure that this was just a dream, or worse, that he is already dead.

"Oh, right. My sword." As realization dawn upon him, he unsheaths his sword and his signature light blue flames lit up. He still couldn't see anything past his own figure though, but at least it was better than before. Rin positioned his body with his chest down and moved his feet like a swimmer, up and down. He vaguely recalled that he was in this place and circumstance because of that  _jerk_ , Amaimon. Of course, he swore peevishly, but at least the king of root didn't try to stop him from escaping this place—this  _hell_. Even though he knew that those two doing all of this complicated stuff for their own amusement (he was sure that Mephisto tantalizing him with a legendary candy that sold only once a year in Japanese candy factory. Really, what a candy freak).

Hell-know-how-long he swam around the dark place, he eventually realized that it was not only him who was trapped inside this creepy and soundless darkness. But also countless of doors with weird carving—which also floated, and really, it made this place became more creepy—with a wide range of sizes; from a small, book-size door and up to the door that was so big, he himself didn't know exactly how tall that door was. He tried to enter one of those doors, but most of the doors were locked and some of it has this big chain circling around the frame accompanied with a padlock or two. The book-size door that he mentioned before were certainly didn't count, considering only his hand alone can pass through it. Maybe he can force one of the doors to open with a little beating—using his bare hands or maybe Kurikara—but his demon instinct said that it was not a good idea. And if he makes a wrong decision, using an excessive force of his blue flames can attract his brothers upstair (though he himself didn't know exactly where is this place. It crossed his mind once that maybe, this creepy place was the demon king of time a.k.a Mephisto's famous 'another dimension'; a place where he hid Rin's weapon without anyone notice), or in the worse scenario,  _that damn_  Satan.

When he almost give up, a small light entered his sight. The light was not too bright—unlike his and Satan's accursed blue flame—even in this darkness, but it was welcoming. Like parent's love to their children, like older brother/sister's love to his/her younger brother/sister, like lover's love to his/her mate. That golden-orange light was so warm, so soothing, so  _addictive_. He wants that light, he wants to be basked inside that appease light; that light that resembles a sunset in spring.

It was a door, towering him with his almighty size. It has a unique carving that Rin couldn't describe it himself that adored on the edge of a shield-shaped crest with one bullet in the middle, two rifles forming a cross mark and a clam with two bird wings (or an angel's?) stretched across the top emblem. The crest lets out a flicker of orange light—the same light Rin just saw earlier; that warm light, that soothing light, that  _addictive_ light—beating along with the rhythmic of Rin's heart. He couldn't move. His light blue eyes watching it pulse without blinking. As if the light was pulling him in, inviting him, and giving him protection within it real, warm light.

_"GRROOAAAA"_

He flinched when a terrible, loud roaring echoed from almost every nook of where he stood. With his enhanced eyesight, he saw a bunch of shadow behind his back, it launched so fast it match the speed of an electric train, and realized that all of this was not just a mere imagination, but rather a group of goblins of various sizes who wore an awful face; mouth wide open, big green tongue stuck out, white big eyes bleeding a black liquid. Rin shuddered. He resumes his delayed journey, now with speed that exceeds human capability limit. Rin is losing fast though when a medium-size goblin digging his sharp nail into Rin's leg, and he winced unconsciously. This hot, painful sensation that was able to melt his bone, he remembered it clearly even though two years had passed (how could Rin forget when Iblis painfully reminded him again, again and  _again_  when he was still locked inside the basement. He could hear the demon king of fire laughing in the background—like a background music of those horror movies, and  _man_ , this whole fiasco thing is  _really_ like a horror movie!).

 _"Holy water?"_  Rin slashed the goblin, who dissolved into a black smoke. One goblin destroyed and another was coming. Each of them tried to catch the youngest prince, still with an awful expression planted on their face. Their eyebrows contorted in pain, their movement is wild. Rin clucked his tongue and tried to escape. Did Satan do this? He poured holy water to his subordinate so he could catch him, so he could cage Rin inside his grasp again, torture him again? Is he crazy?!

This is his true nature, Satan's  _cruel_  nature.

And they caught him.

They swarmed him like flies, clawing and scratching his skin, dragging him back to Satan's lair (hell, hell,  _hell_!). Rin couldn't escape, not with the help of his blue flame either. He struggled, trying to pry their tight hold, trying to detach them, trying to be free! This hot searing pain, it was too much! He cried for help, he cried for his brother, he cried for his father (Fujimoto. Fujimoto.  _Fujimoto_ , not Satan!) as he felt his fear reach a screeching crescendo. But of course, they didn't come. They were already gone.  _Gone._

_All was because of my fault. Because of my existence._

_._

_._

That orange light beating _furiously_.

.

But it was not just that. Other colors were lit, it circled around the crest; red, blue, yellow, green, purple and indigo, it resembled a rainbow. They too, beating furiously—like those light are mad, mad at those goblin who harm Rin—harm someone that is their's, harm  _their_ family. It's calming, it's astounding, it's—

.

"beautiful _! Right, Nii-chan?"_

 _Rin turned his sight from his blue rubber ball (he really love blue, blue is his favorite color. But he also_ hate _blue. Because blue reminded him of his curse heritage,_ of their curse life _) and look at someone or something that Yukio just said 'beautiful'. It's a rainbow. Seven colors stacked together and beautifully curved above the clouds, painting the light blue sky, like a bridge for angels to crossed through from the heaven to earth._

.

His hair mused, eyes wide. He was gasping for breath like his lungs weren't taking in enough oxygen, and it was true. He couldn't breathe. With all of the goblins surrounded him, trapping him, he really couldn't  _breathe_.

.

" _What so beautiful about a rainbow? It's just colors" Rin remember he said something like that._

 _Yukio pouted, "it was not just some colors, Nii-chan. But it is a_ rainbow _!"_

" _Yeah. So what?" Rin played with his ball again, talking to Yukio without looking at him, "like I said, it's_ just _a rainbow."_

.

He stretched his hand, trying to connect it with those lights.  _It hurts_ , this holy water, but he couldn't care less. He didn't even realize when the goblins began to dissolved—either because of the holy water or those light that as the second passed it turned more bright—and he could breathe again.

.

" _Do you know, Rin?" Fujimoto who initially had been sitting on the edge of the garden, watching at both of his foster sons playing on the middle of the green field, approached them, his trademark lop-sided grin plastered on that wrinkled face, "your mother also loved the rainbow."_

" _She always waiting for the rain to stop from the terrace just so that she cannot miss how beautiful rainbow is when it appeared. Aaah…I_ miss _your mother." Fujimoto said, looking up. His eyes turned melancholy, Rin noted, perhaps he was recalling all of his past memories with their mother that they themselves couldn't remember how she looks. Sadness, longing, his desire to meet with Yuri again emanated clearly on his grey orbs._

 _"I_ hope _she can look at how you two growing up right know" Rin knew that their father didn't mean to say that last word out loud—Rin had a sharper hearing than children around him anyway (but after he learned the origin of all his strength, he never ceased to hope that maybe—_ maybe _—he can live peacefully like any other human being (and never once that_ simple _hope ever became_ true _)_

 _Rin peered at Yukio's sparkling eyes, watching as those brown eyes didn't shift his sight from that so-called beautiful rainbow. Different colors, fused with each other, accompanied with the sky as its background._ It really is beautiful, _he finally realized. And at that time, he decided._

" _then…"Rin showed them his widest grin, "my favorite colors are rainbow! Because it's father's, Yukio's—"_

.

He wants to grasp those lights, those welcoming lights. He wants—

.

"— _and mother's favorite colors too!"_

.

—he wants his  _family_  back!

.

.

That  _rainbow_  shines brightly, welcoming  _their_  family within their arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I, at first, hate Yukio, y'know. Because, oh come on, he is your brother! How could you be so cold to him?! What kind of family are you? But then I realize that Yukio actually have a complex 'brother complex' (what?) so my opinion toward him slightly change. Or...what I hope is a brother complex syndrome. I hope. 
> 
> Next chapter gonna be Tsuna first appearance guys, so stay tuned.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, warnings for u guys. This chapter will be suuuupeer long (I think). Because I have to describe Tsuna and his friends' changes in as much detail as I can. I swear this is the first and last I ever wrote a fanfic with this kind of length! Damn yeah! I swear! You have to kick me if I didn't keep my promise!
> 
> And I couldn't stop myself from putting in a ton cussing in this chap guys hehe. So please bear with it, 'kay?
> 
> Beta'ed by Notepadhalfful

Tsuna blinked his eyes once, then twice.

A teenage boy with spiky brown gravity-defying hair (which is all fluffy like a marshmallow added a certain white-haired pedophile) turned back and forth before those round, caramel eyes focused on what was laying in front of him. The gears on his brain, as mediocre as he admitted it to be, spun rapidly to understand one of the many strange situations he had yet encountered. Those wide caramel orbs widened as he turned panicked.

A boy with dark blue hair leaned on the grey brick wall, his right hand rested on his stomach while the other clutched at something that looked like a long katana, Tsuna himself couldn't pry it off. But,  _no_. His attention was not focused on the dangerous sword whose hilt peeked out a little from under the red cloth, no. With Reborn and his gun, Hayato and his bomb, Takeshi and his sword, Mukuro and his trident, and more importantly, Kyoya and his tonfas. There was no weapon left that he truly feared (Ryohei's not included as he uses his own knuckle for combat). Well, except for that abominable,  _wretched_  tonfa!

But then  _who wouldn't_ , when  _Hibari Kyoya_  was the one wielding it?

Tsuna focused was on cuts and bruises that adorned the unconscious blue haired teen form.

Bruises littered his body,  _so many of them_  that the brunet lost count.

 _Wait…this was all getting too confusing_  Tsuna mused, pinching the bridge of his nose and muttering under his breath. Maybe they needed to go back a little.

It all began two days ago.

* * *

Sawada Tsunayoshi felt like this was the worst day  _ever_.

Wait,  _scratch that_. Sawada Tsunayoshi felt that today was the worst day of the many 'worst days  _ever_ ' he had experienced in his whole life as a student.

And those awful misfortunes will always start with the word 'Reborn' and end with the word 'Reborn'.  _Literally_.

Tsuna tends to do the same things every day; wake up late and get tortured by Reborn—today, he would've been electrocuted had his already honed instincts was not kicked in and rung a warning bell in his mind. Before Leon-who-turned-into-electrocardiogram could touch him, he'd jolted up and fallen face-first onto a heap of crumpled bed sheet and dirty clothes. Next came breakfast—where he had his food stolen by Reborn for the umpteenth time, leaving him with no choice but to have a toast with jam only for his breakfast. Go to school, accompanied by the famous one-sided banter of Takeshi and Hayato and get tortured by Reborn—shot him with a Dying Will Bullet with a 'you'll be late for school' as an excuse.

Then his suffering will continue as he reached the school gates, almost-naked with his star-shaped boxers alone and have a light spar with Kyoya—this time Reborn didn't torture him because Kyoya was the one who'll do the job. Then run with all his might towards the school, leaving the irritated Kyoya who tsk-ed because his prey escaped with little to no injuries. Get ridiculed by his classmates and teachers because of his dame-ness and holding Hayato down so he couldn't lash out at the poor teacher who was now whimpering on the floor. And the dangerous glint in Takeshi's eyes was really scary too. Going home and getting a welcoming tackle to the ground by Lambo. Then he'll ask (demand) him to 'buy the great Lambo-sama an ice cream!  _Ice cream, Tsuna-nii_!' followed by I-pin and Fuuta's normal and warm welcome. Doing his homework and get tortured by Reborn before finally going to bed.

And it'll be the same the next day, and the next, and next day after that too.

A monotonous daily-life that ordinary people will get bored eventually. But not for Tsuna. He thus underwent the same activities every day with a big smile and enthusiasm like Ryohei with his passion for a boxing match. Because Tsuna was not an ordinary teenager like his classmate. He is Sawada Tsunayoshi; the only child of Sawada Nana and Sawada Iemitsu (he growled), the next successor in line for Vongola.

The biggest organized crime syndicate  _ever_  in the history of the  _mafia_.

Tsuna himself hadn't known and hadn't wanted to know, the dark side of society if Reborn, a-baby-who-was-not-a-baby, hadn't come barging into his house. When he was still thirteen years old, Reborn came, casually destroying his normal life by saying something like 'you're the next in line for Vongola's mafia and you don't have any choice' with a green gun trained on his temple. Tsuna shivered, horrified at the cruelness of Reborn tortu- _tutor_ the first time they faced each other (until now, though not so much).

Indeed that 'dark' day, as Tsuna describes it, was like hell to him. And he always hoped that it was just a nightmare and everything would go back to normal the next day. But he'll be lying to himself if he says that he didn't felt thankful for Reborn's evilness that time. Because no matter how hard Tsuna's exercises were, everything will turn out okay when he has a friend that will back him up every time, everywhere. Tsuna will never get tired singing his most sincere gratitude toward the baby, with Reborn's tipped his fedora down and blushing slightly as a reply.

Because Reborn had given him something that was worth protecting. Something even more valuable than a chunk of the most expensive diamond in the world. Until his Hyper Intuition—a talent he inherited from his great, great, great grandfather—responded his sincere feelings, screaming that they are his friends. They are his family. They are  _his_!

_Friends, family, mine!_

When the Sky finds his/her accompanying attributes of weather, his/her family, they'll turn overprotective of what's theirs. Thus, Tsuna will never replace his  _friend, family, mine!_  with anything, though his normal life will never back as its prices.

And thus, the nice and friendly Tsuna will be turned feral if his family is in danger.

Tsuna remembered that time when Vongola suddenly got attacked by an enemy Famiglia and Hayato, that have a tendency to do reckless things, protected Tsuna from an amateur mobster's shot that successfully grazed his shoulder. Tsuna's eyes widened in shock before something inside of him snapped. His golden eyes narrowed a bit, sky flame flared like crazy and he bared his fangs, charging at the enemy with a fist coated in flame.

It _changes_  to red at first, the same as Xanxus's flame of wrath. Reborn's jaw slacked a bit as he tried to intercept before Tsuna's flame became a tainted one—such a pure one too. But before he could change Leon into his favorite green gun, Tsuna's flame changed back into orange, but more pure and much, much more powerful. Reborn sighed in relief, realizing for the first time that he unconsciously held his breath.

At the same time, his friends  _froze_. Before the sky flame engulfed them, telling them ( _friend, family, mine!_ ) not to worry and that their sky,  _their family_  was fine. Hayato smiled in spite of his injured state. While Kyoya clenched his spiked tonfas, his body turned rigid in excitement—he had a feeling that he'll get a strong opponent in the near future.

They stood aside, let Tsuna to lashed out,  _lashed out_  and kicked the enemy's butt for the first time they knew him. As he  _snarled_  and punched another Mafioso, they could hear him muttered something along the lines of "How dare you hurt what's  _mine_?!" and many, many profanities from every language he knew flew out from his usually meek, well-mannered mouth. It made most of them wince.

Looks like Gokudera and Xanxus's foul mouth had contaminated little Tsuna's brain too much.

After that incident, every enemy Mafioso knew not to mess with Vongola. Especially those who the Neo Vongola Primo accepted as a family. And after that incident, Kyoya too, didn't miss a chance to attack him wherever he met the brunette and hope that maybe, the hidden carnivore inside him spiked up when the bloodthirsty prefect pounced at him with full speed—Tsuna reminded Kyoya of a wolf beneath lamb's skin too much. But of course, he couldn't get the result he wanted, as Tsuna shook his head in exasperation and accepted Kyoya challenge albeit with a wry smile.

He's not Tsuna if he can't bear the burden of his guardian weird behavior.

Kyoya concluded that maybe that carnivorous side of Tsuna will show off only if those herbivores got stuck in a dangerous situation. The prefect seemed vexed after his discoveries, but even the second evil incarnation itself (Reborn was the first) didn't have the heart to hurt his own pack—no matter how annoying that pineapple head was.

So back to the topic. Why did Tsuna say to the whole world that today is the worst day  _ever_?

It began with a loud chime of a particular cellphone.

"Hey! Whose phone is that? No one should have had it on inside the classroom!" exclaimed Yamada-sensei, a cocky and geeky Math teacher with round, big eyeglasses perched on his crooked nose. Tsuna dubbed him as the second-coming of Nezu-sensei when the said teacher made fun of him since Tsuna made a mistake the first time he gave a question to the class. Of course, Hayato couldn't just let it go and chucked a mouthful of mini dynamites on his ass as he exploded. Though he hasn't given up on mocking him when he knew Hayato is Tsuna's underling, one of his classmate said, especially after that little outburst of the silver-haired teen, Tsuna and Takeshi tried to hold him back so he didn't put another round of dynamites on the poor teacher.

But Tsuna didn't heed a single word from the self-appointed-genius teacher, but rather the deafening sound of a particular cellphone.

And that noisy gadget was none other than his  _own_  cellphone.

"Oi, Dame-Tsuna! You  _dare_  bring a phone to my class?" Shouted the old man (said,  _surprisingly_ , Kyoko the sweet girl) as he saw Tsuna swipe his phone's screen, receiving an incoming call.

One of his classmates whispered loudly, especially the rich kid who was always following the societal trends, when they saw Tsuna holding an unknown phone with an unknown brand either—it's an orange gadget with Vongola emblem on the surface, said someone who recognize the intricate (as an international company though, not a mafia). Looking at the casing, it was clearly an expensive phone that shouldn't have been out on the market yet. Someone who had been Tsuna's classmate in Namimori Middle School recalled, the brunette's mother is a matriarch and his father was just a mine worker in another country.

How could Tsuna  _manage_  to buy that stylish, lavish, obviously  _extravagant_ cell phone then?

Their mussing have to be stopped however as the fuming teacher stalked forward to Tsuna's desk, "Dame-Tsuna, you hear me?! I'll count until three and you have to turn your phone off or else I'll call the headmaster. On—"

Yet he didn't get to finish his threat— _hell_ , he even doesn't have a time to said 'one'—Tsuna raised his head, showing him his eyes that was obstructed by his brown bangs and covered by the shadow of the sun just a second ago. At the same time, all of his classmates felt a chilling cold, even though it was in the middle of summer. They felt the hair on their nape stood up, one of the girls shrieked as the boy beside him peed his pants. Yamada-sensei flunked on the floor, with gaping mouth and legs shaking uncontrollably.

Sawada Tsunayoshi  _glare_  at him, such a dangerous glare that the birds perched on a tree next to his window flew away. Brown orbs that held full of affection now turned orange—full of anger, that promised anyone who gets in his way will feel a tremendous pain, they'll  _wish_  they die.

" _Buon Giorno,_ " Tsuna said in fluent Italian it made most of his classmate gasped in shock. Tsuna, a lazy student who was always got a mediocre score in every test he had, some of them was under the average, can speak Italian? And was  _really_ good too?

And their awestruck expression doubled as Gokudera and, surprisingly, Yamamoto fished out their own phones with the same brand just like their 'boss'—Gokudera's red and Yamamoto's light blue—and spoke in Italian. Gokudera sure is normal because he was born in Italy, but Yamamoto? The easy-going, baseball maniac, who almost have the same grade with Tsuna, that Yamamoto?

" _Capisce._ " As Tsuna end the phone call and, without warning, punched the table till it left a big crack. Everybody, sans Tsuna's friends, flinched.

"Juudaime—"

" _Don't,_ " his voice flat but full of animosity. One of his classmate who sat in front of Tsuna's desk swore that an orange fire lit on Tsuna's forehead. But it disappears as soon as it appears, "I'll take care of this problem _alone_."

"But, Tsuna—"

BAAAMM!

Another exclamation rang through the whole classroom as the door slide open, showing them the exact person they never thought will come. That slick raven hair, that black gakuran put on the broad shoulder flapping inside-out by an imaginary wind, that yellow canary who chirped and sing a Namimori anthem song (and someone could hear an ominous background music being played whenever he decided to make a grand appearance). He is the demon-prefect who love to fight, a ruler of Namimori town that a police force itself feared him.

Hibari— _freaking_ —Kyouya.

"Kyouya, do  _not_  try to stop me." Another gasped rang through the whole classroom. Did Tsuna just call the demon Hibari,  _Kyouya_? His  _given_  name? And the said prefect didn't have a problem with that? By  _Dame-Tsuna_  no less? What about someone with pineapple hair-style that sometimes called him skylark, though? Why  _only_  Tsuna who get the exception? "they overstepped the line and  _have_  to be punished."

However, when Tsuna's classmate though he'll get bitten to death because he  _dares_  degraded someone like Hibari, the later showed him his dangerous yet charming smirk. And he unconsciously reached for his tonfa behind his back (don't ask how he hides those big, burly weapon. _Don't ask_ ) feeling another giddiness when Tsuna's orange with red tainted in the middle eyes focused on his own gray one. In his hand, held a phone that— _what the heck with this weird people?_ —have the same logo but with a different color; Hibari's purple, "Tetsuya called me just now. He succeeds in tracking their movement and the last place those herbivores had been seen."

Tsuna glanced at Kyoya's phone screen before giving the prefect a firm nod, "how's Kyoko and Hana? What about Haru?"

"That poison scorpion herbivore is handling them at the moment." Kyoya pocketed that posh cell phone back into his gakuran. He showed his fangs to the brunette. While the other students shuddered in fright, Tsuna managed to hold his composure, "if you need someone to 'clean up' the rest, you know the right person."

With another malicious grin, he turned and walked out graciously from 1-A classroom (those eerie background music finally died down too), his black, silky gakuran billowing in and out before he disappears around the corner.

A small smile formed on Tsuna's not-baby-face-anymore face before he returned his—still weird, still awesome, still  _scary_ —sharp glare to the teacher who didn't bother to at least save his pride by getting up from the tiled floor, "excuse my rudeness, but I have to go.  _Ciao_."

And he too, disappear from the view after the sliding door was closed, leaving his best friends whose trying to reach him but to no avail. His classmate and one poor teacher flabbergasted as the table Tsuna punched just now let out a loud crack then split into two. Too much tension and killing suspense for any normal students. After a moment of silence, they too, couldn't hold their own weight before their wobbly, jelly-feel like legs gave out and they faint.

With foams inside their hanging mouth.

* * *

Tsuna is angry.

No, he is  _furious_!

It all began with his emergency phone programmed by Shouichi and Spanner rang, eliciting the curious looks from his classmates. No, Tsuna didn't feel upset that they called him in the middle of the class. He didn't feel upset either that, one mistake and his identity as a boss of international, very influenced mafia will blow up and revealed to the general public, no. He was upset, he was  _morose_. As that atrocious ringtone accompanied by a black light flickering in the corner of the gadget seized his attention. It was a sign that that emergency call was _not_  an ordinary one.

But rather an 'S' degree emergency call that needs to be handled  _as soon as possible_.

Tsuna received the call, ignoring his teacher that now crumpled on the ground; like a feather blew by a little breeze and flew aimlessly before it falls, he scoffed. Nevertheless, the old man deserved that humiliation, being he always picked on the students that should have been his responsibility as an honorable teacher, "what's wrong Shouichi?"

"Tsu-Tsuna…" he groaned, his stomachache acted up again, Tsuna hummed, "something  _bad_ happens…"

After the redhead informed  _that_ horrible information to him and Tsuna turned off the call, he couldn't contain his fury, didn't bother to disguise his hatred. He  _snapped_ , crushing his own table and  _snarled_  like an enraged lion. How  _dare_ they? Those Casanova family. How  _dare_  they kidnapped Fuuta and Lambo, his brothers,  _his cubs_! And threatened to  _kill_  them if Vongola does not hand the Vongola's successor, or Tsuna, to them? How.  _Dare_. They?!

(His Hyper Intuition exploded, screaming the same words again, again and again;  _friend, family, mine!_ )

"What's the situation, Spanner?" the brunette asked, his red headphone mounted conveniently on either his ears. His mind was in a jumble, couldn't drive out those abhorrent thoughts of his adopted little brothers if he comes late even for a second.

Red, red,  _red_. Blood, blood,  _blood everywhere_.

 _Friend, family, mine!_ They're  _gone!_

"Vongola, you're hyperventilating. _Please_  calm yourself." Spanner's monotone voice called and successfully brought Tsuna back from his thought. He takes a deep breath and coaxing down his Hyper Intuition; it still flared dangerously, though not so much. Being a Vongola boss, he couldn't lose his cool because of the danger that threatened his family, or Reborn will beat him to another lesson of 'how to be a Mafia boss'.

It was painful.

It didn't take too long for him to infiltrate the enemy base—an abandoned building near Kokuyo land. Mukuro offered to help as he contacted Tsuna via telepathy and whispered in a not so low voice that he was bored and needed some victim that he could 'play'. Tsuna shivered and refused his 'kind' offer vehemently.

He could definitely imagine Mukuro sulking in the corner, drawing his torture slash playing around plans on the ground with the tip of his trident.

Tsuna tiptoed to the far room, put some people to sleep with a single jab on their nape, and finally reaching the appointment meeting point the boss of Casanova Famiglia decide beforehand.

Over there, Tsuna saw his little brother. Fuuta was tied to a wooden chair, trying to break loose from the thick rope and— _oh God!_ —crying desperately, begging the fat boss (whose name Tsuna never bothered to remember) to  _let Lambo go_! While Lambo himself howled in pain, as he was held harshly by his curly hair like a rabbit got caught by a hunter.

Tsuna's blood boiled.  _That's it_. Before he realized it himself (especially  _friend, family, mine!_  that was still playing like a broken machine inside his head made him lose his control for the second time), he charged with full power. With Fuuta and Lambo's existence and Spanner instructions were the cause of his restraint and didn't turn him into a carnivore, into a  _beast_ —Hibari called him.

Though Tsuna rather called his split second-personalities as a 'protective sky'.

That night, Fuuta and Lambo clung onto their Tsuna-nii like a lifeline, even when Tsuna tried to go to the toilet. The cheery, bouncing Fuuta turned into a sobbing mess, once or twice he'd look up at Tsuna's shoulder to find Lambo, who had exhausted himself and sleep on the crook of his big brother's neck before he let out a relieved sigh. Watching that, it made Tsuna's nerve roar in annoyance.

After his mother's warm embrace put them to sleep, Tsuna called the prefect without a second thought. How ecstatic Kyoya was when Tsuna asked him to find 'someone' he could spar with, he wanted to release the pent-up energy building inside him. The skylark agreed to it right away, seeing Tsuna was in 'Beast Mode', it means he was in his prime for a serious fight. They nearly 'maim'—for the lack of better word, because 'killing' was too much word and neither Tsuna nor Hibari would ever do that to their own family—each other as they laid on the vast land of Hibari's manor, panting hard and watching clouds drifting slowly by on the clear sky.

And then came the next day—another  _worst_  day  _ever_  for the petite brunette.

Tsuna's outburst became a legend by the next morning, his friends realized as every student tried to clear away from their path as much as they could. Especially when the news yesterday night showed the whole world, every single one of Casanova Famiglia's members found by Japanese's police force, bound and gagged, muttering 'demon' and 'monster' for the umpteenth time. They didn't know the connection of that news with Tsuna's weird behavior, however. Though, it was too real to be called a mere coincidence. His teacher didn't pick on him like he usually did too. Before long, the teacher bolted out from the classroom, as the feeling Tsuna's eyes boring upon him was too much, leaving the class hanging in an awkward situation, while Takeshi snickered and Hayato snorted in amusement.

As the lunch bell rang, every student of class 1-A trickled out quickly from the classroom, leaving the bemused Tsuna with his two friends, who were now rolling on the ground, laughing like their lives depended on it.

Sure, Tsuna felt weirded out by his friend's behavior but he didn't mind. It means he'll have a peaceful day he deserved so much after those 'kidnapping my  _friend, family, mine!_ ' fiasco. And Reborn didn't torture him this morning, he felt that his student need to enjoy and relaxed for once in a while, it made Tsuna day turn out more and more better.

Though maybe he said that all too soon.

When school ended, Tsuna walked home alone; his friends had their own business while Tsuna had to finish his detention for leaving a class without permission yesterday. As time passed by, he realized that afternoon had arrived. He distinctly remembers that he asked his friends to go home without him. In other words, Tsuna was alone for the first time since he and his friends started attending Namimori High School.

It had never happened before, especially after Tsuna was officially declared as Vongola Decimo a few months ago. Since then, every assassin from every enemy Famiglia will try to attack him. And his family will always be there to protect what's theirs. And Tsuna with his famous 'trouble magnet' will attract another problem within school area.

Which included  _bullies_ , apparently.

Tsuna sighed in defeat as three of the senior class students pinned him to the wall in the school backyard. They sneered at him, one of them clenched his fist, irritated at Tsuna's calm demeanor. Well, he had faced a frightening being (Byakuran's parallel ghost) and a God-like person (Checker face or Kawahira ojii-san) before, a mere bully that thought themselves as someone more superior, treating others like a mere cockroach, more brawn than brain will never scare him.

"Oi,  _Dame_ -Tsuna. I heard that yesterday ya act high and mighty, huh?" one of them, their boss maybe, with a thick beard on his jaw and a baseball cap on top of his bleached hair—Tsuna dubbed him as 'beard-senpai', asked, "and don't forget about that devil prefect."

"Was it really true?" fat-looking boy with a round face and slanted eyes input his own opinion; 'Fatty-senpai' hmm. Too un-original.

"There's no way he could've broken that table and command Hibari like a boss, ya hear?"  _Oh the irony_ , Tsuna though, staring at that thin face, full of piercing. Because he has a round piercing on his nose, 'Bull-senpai' then, "those skinny arms and legs, he's just a wimp."

" _What about you then, a_ malnourished  _Bull_?" Tsuna wanted to say but held himself back. His level of sarcasm had increased as Reborn mocked Iemitsu as much as he could when the man has the guts to finally visit them. The brunette never ran his mouth except when he felt really annoyed or agitated, and he didn't want anyone to know that Tsuna, the meek and coward teenager, finally grew a backbone.

Instead, he put his dame act, flailing his two arms in front of his flustered face and stuttered, "n-no senpai! It was just a hoax, you didn't have to believe them." Add a little nervous chuckle here, "my classmates were just exaggerating things, really."

The 'Beard-senpai' chortled, followed by his underling. Tsuna did a little celebratory dance in his mind, he succeeds convincing those fools. He couldn't escape with his body intact though, he knew. Tsuna readied himself so he could absorb their punches or kicks if this little confrontation resorts to physical violence, and while it'll hurt a bit, he'll bear with it. However, he has to conceal his future bruises or his family will hunt the poor senpai and dealt the proper 'punishment' on them. He especially has to hide it from Reborn because he tended to be the cruelest one if one of his student and family—though Reborn never says it out loud—was hurt.

By someone other than  _him_ , of course.

The brunette submitted himself, waiting for the oncoming jabs and some physical pain. But his resolve crumbled apart as one of the hoboo—that 'Bull-senpai' again—said something he couldn't and will not forgive.

"Of course, he  _is_  Dame-Tsuna! I can't understand what that Yamamoto kid saw in him. Though morons will always flock to each other, huh?"

"Nice one! What about that silver punk-like kid?" Fatty comment, "I bet his father never acknowledged him as his son that he finally ran away from Italy, turned into a beggar in Japan!"

"Funny that I have the same thought with ya." Beard prattled, grating on Tsuna's nerve, "I bet that punk's mother is a whore and Gokudera was one of her client's _fucking_ son. Just look at him, look at those Gothic accessories and stupid expression that when I saw him I wanna—"

"—up."

Their conversation halted abruptly when they feel a ferocious killer intent enveloped their whole body, cold sweat flowing down from their nape till it wet their back. The said Dame-Tsuna they mocked just now looked at them with eyes full of disgust. His hands clenched so tight, his knuckle turned white. Nails piercing his silky skin, it drew blood out. Brown bangs obstructed his wide caramel orbs from their views, but one of them _swore_  that it change into orange for a minute. A fang peeks at his right side of the mouth and he growled—those three senpais whimpered pathetically.

"Shut.  _Up._ " Tsuna spelled word by word, "do  _not_  freaking insult my family. Or _else_."

They could hear,  _'you'll face hell'_  vaguely though Tsuna himself didn't bother to finished his threat. Beard-senpai snapped from his shock as he growled back, face only a few inches more from Tsunas. He could sense a foreboding feeling as he leaned on the kohai's face, but he chucked it as a mere wind, "or else, what? Ya wanna go on me? Ya, Dame-Tsuna? A kid who can't defend himself if his stupid friends didn't back ya up?"

But before Tsuna could retort back and maybe, delivered one or two punched on their ugly face, Beard-senpai's eyes widened for a bit before he lost his balance and fell unceremoniously on the ground, his black orbs rolling to the back of his head. The remaining two swiveled their few, trying to catch the fucking asshole who dared lay a hand on their boss. However, the same thing happened to them when Fatty-senpai landed on his face with a loud thump followed closely by the Bull-senpai.

Tsuna gaped, looked up at his savior and smile sincerely, "thanks, Mochida-senpai. I owe you one."

Mochida Kensuke dusts his pants as he stood up high, wooden shinai rest on his shoulder. He showed Tsuna his biggest grin, while one of his footstep on Beard-senpai, "I didn't save your butt, Tsuna. I saved 'em. Who knows how long they'll felt terror if you successfully punch the hell out of them. I never saw that 'beast' side of yours, but I didn't wanna take that chance anytime soon."

"And I told you to call me Kensuke, without any honorific, right?" he drawled, kicking one of the bullies lightly, but didn't get a response. Looks like his 'little' jab on the nape was too much for them.

Tsuna flustered, now it wasn't an act, "b-but you're my senpai! It was disrespectful! Kyouya will  _never_  like it!"

"But Kyouya is also a senior, hm?" Tsuna flustered even more. He forgets that Kyoya was two years older than him sometimes, being the boy himself never respect the elder beside Reborn and, reluctantly, Dino.

Kensuke chuckled, "if I didn't have those memories back that time, I'll never have known what kind of cruel world is out there. You saved me, just treat it as my payment to you, 'kay?"

That time, when Kensuke was in Kendo practice and suddenly his head flooded with foreign memories he swore he never had. He remembers he screamed so hard, his so-called friends approached him, asked him if he was okay and need any help. But Mochida didn't care, didn't even bat eyelashes to them. The next moment, he dashed like a madman, leaving his concerned friends inside the dojo.

How could Kensuke  _not_  scream? When his head was full of blood, mangled body, corpse, charred body and buildings, every  _awful_ thing he could count flashed like a broken television.

He could feel tears threatening to fall, but he wiped them away, fast. His memories told him that that carnage was done by a freak from the future. And he didn't have to worry anymore because those nightmares were stopped already by someone. Someone he  _knew_  very well as the said person was walking in front of him, clenching his head in agony as his friends asked his well being.

Kensuke remember he confronted him, yelled at him to tell him  _what was fucking wrong with that?_ Tsuna tilted his head in confusion though apparent agony still visible on his pale complexion. He felt sympathy for him at that time, he felt like his mother scolded him for being an ass and told him to apologize. He didn't know why he felt that way (even when in the meantime Tsuna explained it to him, that it was because Kensuke's flame had been harmonized with his own, he still couldn't understand the logic) But Kensuke's head was in a jumble and he demands answer right here,  _right now!_

Though when he raised his voice for another octave, Tsuna's fear became more and more apparent (or Kensuke though. But after a while then, he finally knew, it was not fear, but a  _concern_ ). And as Kensuke tried to grab him, to just _freaking_ answer him and  _stop with that pitiful act of yours!_  He vaguely remembers something hit his cheek hard, it threw his whole body down headlong on the hard brick.

His jaw dropped in bewilderment when a sharp katana gleam in front of his eyes. Takeshi held his weapon under his chin with those threatening glint he will never forget till now. Tsuna then invited him to his house so he could explain everything to him.

And he finally knew about Tsuna's connection with the mafia, that he is the sole heir for the tenth generation boss of Vongola Famiglia—beside Xanxus, the adopted son of Ninth—his friends are his guardian, including Kyoya, and Tsuna's life will be always in constant danger.

It took a week for him to cope up with that ridiculous story, it made Tsuna worried he always came to his class to check on him. Before Kensuke finally resigned himself that,  _no_ , he'll never get his peaceful life back.

When he accepted his role as one of Tsuna's bodyguard then, he finally could relax when the brunette face which was full of wrinkles this past week was gone and he smiled that warm smile, spread his arm wide as he announced.

_"Welcome to my family, Mochida Kensuke senpai!"_

Kensuke woke up from his little flashback as Tsuna hopped up and scratched his head in bashfulness, "well, Kensuke...senpai," the said boy narrowed his eyebrows, displeased with Tsuna restraint but huffed in annoyance. At least he called him with his given name now. He'll relent someday, "Thank you again for saving me. I don't know what will happen to them if I really did lash out. Do you have a kendo meeting today?"

"Ah, yeah I have. But it looks like you didn't have someone accompanying you to go home?" Kensuke asked, planting his shinai butt on the ground, leaning on it for a while, "how about I walk you home?"

"Wha- _no!_  You didn't have to!" Kensuke opened his mouth to protest, but Tsuna beat him to it, "no, really it's okay. I know my Hyper Intuition felt on edge today, but it's not a dangerous one. Maybe it warns me of another one of Reborn's antic so you  _don't_  have to worry."

Kensuke really wants to protest now, but he knew when the brunette said on behalf of his Hyper Intuition, everything will always be right. And if Tsuna said he'll be okay, he'll be okay. Kensuke shook his head before his mouth tugging upward a bit. Tsuna knew he finally convinced him as he smiled back, "if you say so then. Take care of yourself.  _Ja._ "

"You too. _Matta ne_!" Tsuna called, hoisted his bag and walked away from the fallen senpai, entrusting Hibari or his henchmen to take care of them.

* * *

It was night already and Tsuna still hadn't reached his home yet. When he saw a troubled grandma, as always Tsuna's desire to help others win, and he offered to carry those big and look too heavy for an old lady groceries to walked her home. Before he knew it, Tsuna spent a lot of time and now he was late. He changed his pace into a light jogging, fearing that that incarnation of the devil itself will shoot him dead, literally. Because Mafia bosses are never late.

When Tsuna crossed along the walkway without light, his Hyper Intuition niggling him, warned him about something. Tsuna grew anxious as his intuition went haywire, not something dangerous but still counted as a warning call. His mental restraint finally broke down though, being heard a crunching branch and rustling leaves, he swerved his head around.

Before he could react,  _"oomph!"_ something fell on him, sandwiched his slender body with the hard, cold asphalt.

"Aw, aw, aw…what?" he groaned, pulled himself off and pushed whatever it was to the gray wall beside him. He pinched the bridge of his nose, focusing his fuzzy eyesight and finally, widened his caramel orbs in shock as the situation dawned him. Tsuna then inadvertently lets out a shrill shriek.

And that's how he got into this situation now.

Tsuna tore a rolled gauze he always brought in an emergency, warped it around the blue-haired boy's hand. He huffed, full of victory after he managed to perform the first aid on him though he couldn't treat those gruesome burns. He couldn't squelch his worry toward the teen either.

Looking at his sword, Tsuna knew this teen was not an ordinary schoolboy, but no matter. Tsuna encountered many weird, dangerous situation and people before already, a little surprise of stranger falling from a tree will never shock him. Much.

Tsuna touched the teen bruises hand, brushing the bandage for a moment. He felt his anger rise though. Because who was the evil man/woman that dare hurt a civilian like him? Whereas Tsuna never met him before, a total stranger, something warm enveloped him and his Hyper Intuition, again, let out familiar words.

_(Friend, family, mine!)_

It screams and  _screams_  like crazy, he started to hyperventilate. His view suddenly blurred, he saw the teen figure and  _redredred_ — _what the hell?_ —he could feel his body trembling, his head felt like it wants to _explode_!

_(Friend, family, mine!)_

What the _heck_  was with this vision, it was _not_  his!—a boy in a torture chamber—red fire—water splashed—scream and laughter and whimper and sob— _he couldn't take it anymore_! Just  _stopstopstop_!  _I want to go back home, my_ father, _my_  brother—

_(Friend, family, MINE!)_

Natsu in ring form  _gao_ 'ed ferociously, sky flame burst for a while, and Tsuna woke up from his—but not really his—nightmare. He gasped in pain, panting heavily with cold sweat trickling down his forehead, clutching his heart that let out an erratic  _thumpthumpthump._  Tsuna realized that he was curled up on the ground, whimpering like the Dame-Tsuna he was before.

He gazed at the scowling face of the unconscious teen—vaguely spot another long gash that starts from his nape till it disappears on his back. The brunette breath in and out before he strapped his bag on his chest and hoisted the blue hair teen on his back. He felt, light. So, not just abuse, but he didn't get enough food to eat?

Tsuna felt his bile in his throat rose and he desperately calms his furious nerve. There was no use getting agitated at someone he didn't know. And he really needs to get home  _ASAP_  or else. He shuddered, didn't have enough courage to finished his thought just now.

When he reached his home and he opened the main door, Tsuna's Hyper Intuition flare for an umpteenth time, he unconsciously ducked and  _shrieked_.

"Hiee! Wait, Reborn! I have an injured person here!  _Don't kick!_ "

The brown haired teen felt something weigh down on his shoulder and he peeked at his side, a little afraid. A kid with a black suit and fedora sat calmly while sipping an espresso.

Reborn, the world's greatest hitman along with other Arcobaleno just got their supposed freedom from their dark years and years of the curse. With Spanner, Shouichi, Giannini and Verde's help, they finalized a medicine that could help them grew fast enough from their baby form. Though they need a full week to add another year to their cursed body, it wasn't a bad deal. They never saw Uni smiled that wide, happily crying for their salvation, forgetting herself that her curse was way worse than them. Their stomach churned, not in dread but happiness, basking themselves in that exuberance, delighted laughter of her.

As long as their sky will live her happy  _life,_  they'll wait.

Six weeks already passed and Reborn grew from a one-year-old baby into a six years old kid.

He narrowed his beady eyes on the blue-haired teen and back to Tsuna who was, right now, sighed in relieved because Reborn just spared Tsuna's life, "I told you to  _stop_  picking up weirdos. Who's this?"

"I don't know, Reborn. He just fell from the tree with those nasty bruises all over his body" Tsuna gritted his teeth in annoyance, it made Reborn raised one of his eyebrows. Tsuna never acted like this, except when his family was in danger, "Kaa-san. Can you help me?"

His beautiful mother peaked from the kitchen door, smiling brightly before she gasped, reaching fast for the teen on Tsuna's back. She was fussing over the teen like a mother should have been when their child was hurt (and Tsuna will never forgive the teen's parents if they were the one who abused him this much) and brought him to the guest room.

Tsuna ran to the back, accompanied by Reborn, to get a proper first aid kit, a towel, and a basin full of warm water. When he arrived, Nana sat there, unraveled Tsuna's clumsy bandage, showing them his couple cuts and bruises on the full light—Tsuna's face turned grim.

While Nana tended on the blue-haired teen injuries, his erratic heartbeat receded to original  _thump thump_. The teen scowled face smoothed back, he was  _saved_.

His  _friend, family, mine!_  is  _save!_

Tsuna took a deep, shaky breath to calmed himself down. Though he couldn't bear watching how many injuries beneath those thick layer of clothes, his inner demon will wake up. He didn't need Kyoya to help him suppressed it back, as he needs his energy to survive in dodgeball match tomorrow. Fighting with him in full power made his whole body felt like a jelly.

And  _those vision_ …was it just a  _mere_  imagination or—

(A painful sob rang through the dark room.  _Father, Yukio, Yukio_ , echoed loudly like a broken cassette.)

—it was  _memories_  of the teen's life.

His caramel orbs then fell on the teen's sword. It looked ancient, as more of the sword revealed when Nana carelessly dumped it on the table. It dark blue hilt have a red thread circling on the bottom, worn out sash and scabbard with black color. Tsuna didn't know why, but he felt 'energy' from that sword.

Really, really  _powerful_  'energy' he backed up for a bit.

And Tsuna sure it was not his imagination either when Reborn, who sat on his shoulder, suddenly tensed, his narrowed black eyes locked with Tsunas.

"You felt that too, Reborn?" he asked, and Reborn nod as an answer.

He knew from that gaze alone, the hitman slash tutor wanted him to inspect it and it made Tsuna gulped in nervousness. Slowly but surely, he approached the sword. And when his finger touched the hilt, a light-electricity crackled, Tsuna flinched. He withdrew his hand right away, watching as that blue lightning continues to crackle for about a minute before it died down.

He knew a sealed power because he'd experienced it before. And he knew whatever seal was put on this sword was  _freaking_  strong! That light just now, Tsuna could feel that it was wary,  _apprehensive_  towards other people it never met before—like a kitten trying to scare others by puffing its furs. But nothing more. Tsuna instantly knew that sword was like Hibari strength and viciousness toward his 'pack'.  _Strong_ , but it didn't feel dangerous. In fact, Tsuna felt—

_Warm._

"Oh  _my_  God!"

Tsuna snapped from his trance, however, when his mother gasped, aghast, for the second time that night. The brunette flummoxed, he turned his head fast, as he thought that something bad had happened he readied his fighting stance.

But when he saw his mother almost in tears and covered her mouth with her two slender hands, as the teen lying naked without his clothes and wearing just a boxer, Tsuna couldn't help himself to widened his eyes and  _choked_  in surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buon Giorno: Good Day
> 
> Capisce: I understood
> 
> .
> 
> Shit finally hit the fan huh, Rin? They saw you without your clothes, you're a half demon, and it means…
> 
> I'm a jerk, that cliff-hanger really pissed you off, I hope *cackle*
> 
> What the—15 pages? More than 7000 words? o.O This chap was awesome! Tiring but awesome! For me, I don't know about you, though. I want to separate it into two chapter if I can, but sadly, I couldn't find the right time to end this chap and…yeah you got this. But I hope I didn't bore you because, yeah, this is my first time writing this much lol.  
> Remember that time when Tsuna has a vision about Mukuro trapped in a water jail? That's what happens to Tsuna there, he has a vision about Rin's life.
> 
> Oh and about Mochida joined Tsuna's Famiglia, that was true. At least, in the manga. I think he was one of Yamamoto's subordinates (Yamamoto said it himself in Future Arc chapter). That's why, sometimes I wonder, when the author in fanfiction writing about reunion story and Mochida there will always trying to degraded Tsuna, I just couldn't accept it. If Dino and Tsuna's other Family have their memories of the future, why not Mochida also?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For RinxShiemi fans, sorry. But I prefer RinxIzumo. It's a pity though, my fav ship never has enough appearance in fanfiction site…
> 
> I want to warn you, my fellow reader. In this chap, Tsuna will speak different languages for a while. And from Rin's point of view, it'll sound foreign to him. I translate it with google translator, so for you who actually study the language, don't hesitate to correct me if you find error(s)
> 
> And my beta said that I should put the English translation beside the foreign language and inside brackets. But...I don't know...
> 
> So I'm not dismissing your suggestion, my beta, but rather I want to ask my reader's opinion first; should I put the translation like you suggest or should I put it in the end of the chap. Please, please send me your opinion via review or PM, 'kay?
> 
> Btw check novirp.deviantart.com/gallery/ .I wanna show you, my reader, about my version of Rin's family. Maan...Lucifer, Egyn, and Beelzebub totally look like a girl, especially Egyn. I'm not very good at drawing long-haired man without them looking very feminine, they look like bishounen(s)`3`
> 
> Betaed by Notepadhalffull

There was one time when Yukio decided to invite his students to bunk with them in his and Rin's old dorm. Bon and Konekomaru had a heated argument about how an Aria should act as support when Knight or Dragoon gets into trouble. Izumo tried to search for a signal so she could call Paku and ask about her weekend. Shiemi worked on her homework and occasionally asked Yukio who has a hard time with grading his student exam. Shura had a date with her beloved booze. And Shima tried to flirt with the said girls—Izumo punched him for being too neglectful of her privacy.

Rin sighed in content as he gazed at the sky, thousands of stars shining in the vast sky on a cloudless night. A can of mango juice held loosely between his thumb and index finger. White clouds puffed out from the crack of his mouth, flew around aimlessly with the cold winter air. Those electric blue eyes that shone with playfulness now glazed over.

Rin felt... _tired_.

Contrary to popular belief, Rin was not stupid. He knew Yukio deliberately asked his friends to come over so Rin could relax, no matter how much paperwork he had to sign, no matter how noisy they were. Or saying all those crap about 'for Rin and his future as an exorcist'. As long as Rin would stop forcing those  _fake_ smiles, he'll accept the headaches willingly.

He knew he shouldn't worry his brother like this. He had a hard life; as a prodigy teacher, an exorcist one at that, as Rin's jailer—he'd said one time—and as the only one supporting the broken family of the Okumura. But he was exhausted. Exhausted by all the scorns, those condescending attitude from all of those old geezers of an exorcist toward him. Just because of his heritage as a half-demon, something he couldn't avoid, he had to bear all of those hateful looks. Satan was evil, he knew. But it didn't mean Rin was also the devil. He  _is_  human,  _damn it!_

Rin let out another puff of white. Sometimes he envied his little brother. When he was born, he was too weak hence the Satan's flame went into him. But then he smiled sourly. It's a good thing then because Yukio didn't have to endure everything happens to him from the past years. As an older brother, it was his duty to protect the younger one. He had to protect what's  _his._

_He had to._

"Yo monkey! What are you doing, sitting here all alone?" he shot up startled for a moment, before relaxing again when a boy with dual-color hair sat beside him. He barely realized when the bald teenager and a purple haired girl also rest their butt on the hard, wooden floor; with the said girl muttering about a 'pervert' angrily, certainly cursing the pink haired boy who was now having a crude dance with the drunk Kendo master (Shiemi blushed fervently, and Yukio threw a thick book to those two obtuse).

Rin glared for a bit, then turning his gaze to one of the lonely stars, shining with a dim light, alone in the middle of the dark sky, "You know me. I never think of anything useful."

The dark blue haired boy took another sip, unaware with the inquisitive look his friends threw at him. Especially Bon, who was confused at that passive comment Rin made just now. He should be pissed at Bon when he called him with degrading name and started a useless argument with him. They saw him sigh for Mephisto-knew-how-many-times today; as that was the sole reason why they decided to accompany him in watching the stars or whatever it was that he was doing.

Though Izumo mostly just wanted to escape from Shima's perverted eyes, and Rin's weird condition just happened to be a perfect excuse for her.

"This is not like you, Rin." Silent. After a while, moonlight glinting on Koneko's round glasses, smirk donning his small face, "Is it that because you like someone?"

And it looks like the bald boy's guess was correct, as Rin choked and spat out his mango juice. Koneko chuckled lightly, rubbing circles on Rin's back to help him reduce his coughing fit. His face turned beet red like a boiled crab—whether that was from embarrassment or an after effect he had when he choked himself just now—and exclaimed, " _N-no!_  I don't! How can I—" he stop, his face turned dark for a moment. Nobody realized, except Izumo who narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "—how can I  _l-like_  someone?"

It was truly a lie, they knew, because Rin's ears still maintained that particularly bashful characteristic and he didn't want to face any of them, bangs covered half of his round face (they never know his true feeling though. Rin was angry, no,  _furious_  at himself. How could he? A cursed, half-demon; an  _impure being_ , loving a beautiful,  _pure_  human? The mere idea of it was _unacceptable_!). The bald monk maintained his grin, it grew larger and larger as the second ticking by, "Haha…just tell us the truth, Rin-kun. We've already known you for years, of course, we'd know what kind of problem you're facing. We'll help you!"

.

_You said that…_

.

"S-Satan! You…you _monster_!"

.

 _Yet you were the ones who screamed at me, feared me, looked at me like I'll_ hurthurthurt  _you—my friend!_

.

"Finally, have an interest in someone huh? I thought you are just a small-brained monkey with a cooking obsession." Bon laughed out loud (and secretly relieved that the dumb monkey finally reverted back to his old self) while Rin sputtered and screamed at the top of his lungs at him to stop calling him that,  _you damn rooster!_  A tick mark bulged at Bon's forehead and their famous two-side banter began for an umpteenth time. Koneko sighed in pleasant exasperation, while Izumo shook her head. From the corner of his peripheral vision, he saw Yukio looking at them fondly from behind the stack of white paper, a small smile tugging at his stoic face, looking suspiciously very satisfied. Before he returned his gaze to the wretched, evil demon (read: paperwork), the scowl back on his tanned face.

Shima was still flirting with Shiemi and Shura-sensei though.

"But seriously, Rin," he said, one hand clamping Rin's mouth, that, maybe right now, showering him with every profanity he knew from his past-life as a hoodlum. Not like Rin was a scoundrel before. Some bad people decide to call him that because of his tendencies to maintain justice with his fists. He continued his last statement before their argument started ten minutes or so ago, "Just like Koneko said, we're here you know? You can count on us whether the girl you love accepts or rejects your feeling."

.

_You said that…_

.

"What the hell? What is Satan's spawn doing _here_?!"

.

 _Yet you were the one who betrayed me, avoided me like a plague. Like I'm just a mere demon—but I'm a_ human! _—A devil that has to be_  destroyeddestroyeddestroyed _—till I dissolved into nothingness._

.

"You really are an idiot huh?" Rin's head swiveled so fast, he could have gotten whiplash. A hurt expression marred his face and for some reason, she felt guilty about it. Izumo ignored the churning feelings inside her stomach and decided to stay smug, both of her hands wrapped below her bosom, "do you know what a 'friend' means? It means someone who'll stay with you no matter what happens, and they'll always help you any time, anyplace. If you have a problem, speak."

"B-But that doesn't mean  _I'm_  your friend though!" she huffed loudly, face slightly dusted with pink when Rin's innocent smile attacked her with full power, shining so brightly like the sun, "you're just a dead last in our class, not important for someone like me,  _hmph_!"

.

_You said that…_

.

"Rin is Satan's son,  _so what?_ Blue Night was caused by Satan,  _not_  Rin. What's up with you people? I thought Rin was the stupid one, but it seems you are the idiot here,  _you doofus_!"

.

_Yet you were the one…_

You were the  _first friend_  who  _reached_  out to me.

You were the one who stayed by my side like you said before. You were the one who supported me. You were the one who told me that everything will turn alright. That  _I'm not alone_ , that there are people who still  _believed_  in me.

Because I am their  _friend_ , their  _family_.

 _I am_  important  _to them._

.

"Yukio and I, you can always count on him, count on me." She smiles truthfully. Before then turned her head fast and scowled—or pouted, in Rin's eyes that is, "I said that not because I care for you,  _b-baka_!"

Rin remembered he laughed so hard that time; laughed and  _cried_ at the same time. Laughed, because of her typical Tsundereness towards other people. Cried because finally— _finally!_ —someone saw him as a person. Saw him as Rin— _not_  as a demon, _not_  as Satan's spawn. But just Rin; the bubbling Rin who always wearing that goofy, stupid smile. The Rin who always stayed optimistic even when the whole world was against him. The Rin who is  _Yukio's older brother_  and always will be.

.

 _Friend_  huh?

But…can we become  _more_  than just a friend? Because I  _like_  you; not as a  _friend_ , not as a  _family_. But rather—

.

" _I_ love _you."_

.

That time, before he went to fight, accompanied by his friends, to erase all of the demons in Assiah (after they'd apologized to him, said that Izumo was right, that Rin was not in the wrong here, that Rin didn't _kill_ all of those poor exorcists). The wind rustled her beautiful purple hair. Rin stood on the edge of the cliff facing the teen, watching as the light shined upon Izumo's slender figure. He saw the blush forming on her chubby cheek; saw her fiddling with the hem of her skirt.

"B-but…I thought you l-liked Shiemi?" This was the first time Rin had seen her embarrassed like this, it was cute. She asked, or mumbled as her voice was so soft he'd have never heard it if not for his demon hearing. Still with her wide, sparkling eyes staring at everything but Rin.

Ah, right. Shiemi. Yeah, he _had_  liked her. The keyword here is; had. Because Rin, at that time was still an innocent, clueless Rin. Shiemi is ( _was_ ) his first friend. That's why he'd cherished her, misinterpreting his reverence as romantic feelings toward her.

However, he realized, as Shiemi saw Yukio with awe. He should have been jealous, should have been feeling bitter, but no. Instead, he felt,  _relieved_. That Yukio has someone who cares for him  _beside_ Rin. That he could rely on his wellbeing to Shiemi. That he could trust her to support Yukio, always, when Rin himself went somewhere (or  _forever_ ) someday. Yeah, he liked Shiemi.

But he  _loves_ Izumo.

"I just wanted to tell you my feelings."  _Before I'm gone_ , Rin held back his tongue before those words came out accidentally. His demonic instincts screamed like crazy, warning him that something  _badbadbad_  was going to happen tonight. Better tell her now or  _never_ , "you don't have to answer, it's okay. Because, you know,  _I am_ Satan's son."

The high-class demon that was feared by everyone. Rin didn't want,  _dare_ , to think that if— _if_ —someday,  _someday_ he'll find his soul mate, marry her and maybe have a kid of his own. That Griggori and co. will fear him/her, treat him/her as another one of Satan's spawn— _like Rin_ , or a demon— _like Rin_ , or an Exorcist's weapon— _like Rin_.

No. He would rather be alone, would rather be hated by everyone, would rather bear the burden himself,  _kill_ himself! Rather than let those awful things happen to his kid (hah! Kid! Wasn't that a  _wonderful_ dream? He mused dryly).

"So Eyebrows, no,  _Izumo_." His electric blue eyes stared at those round but narrowed purple orbs ( _why are you looking at me like that? I'm here, you didn't have to look so sad_ …please), "thanks for putting up with me."  _Supporting me, staying by my side_ , "I love you. And—"

.

"— _sayonara._ "

* * *

Long eyelashes fluttered open, electric blue eyes shone between the cracked eyelids. The first thing he asked himself was what had happened to him. Before yesterday's event rushed inside his head, he suddenly rose up and the next minutes, he groaned in pain before flopping back onto something soft, Rin barely realized that he rested on something like a bed. Confusion reflected in those wide, slightly tinted with fear eyes.

Rin satiated his curiosity by investigating the room nook by nook. He was in some stranger's room, he concluded. It felt kind of empty with the little furniture it held; a big, enormous wardrobe. The wall painted in emerald hue while the lamp on the ceiling let out a dim yellow light. Rin swiveled his head slightly to the right, noting a small drawer beside him before something very familiar caught his attention.

His sword, it rested calmly beside the small, brown closet near him. But, didn't he unsheathed it when he tried to hack away those holy-water-drenched Goblins? It was a stupid move, facing the demons without a weapon ready, besides his own fists. He knew it, and there was no way he had time to sheath his weapon back inside it scabbard when he remembered, after how suffocating their clutch, he knew no more what happened besides darkness slowly claiming his vision.

He felt relieved, however. Rin never knew where he would end up; he didn't want someone to find him in fire and decide to dissect him because his body refused to burn. Or worse, call up an exorcist.

_Red fire—water splashed—he screamed._

Damn. He didn't want to relive those memories in the meantime.

By the way, where was he? Besides sleeping in someone else room, that is. The bed he stayed at was facing the window, the turquoise curtain shut closed. Rin slowly got up, winched and gritted his teeth in the process, before his callous hand could grab the cloth and yank it open. Mouth hanged open, eyes grew wider and wider in a minute. He was shaking, so hard he had to hold his leg before he could jump outside to ascertain for himself whether this was a dream or not.

Because if it really was a dream—such a  _beautiful_ dream too—he will never want to wake up. No way. Never,  _ever_ —

Wind caressing his pale complexion, startling him from shock. Slowly but surely, his quivering hand reached out. Green slightly brown leaves fluttered down from the tree and nudged his finger for a bit before dropping on the grass. White clouds swimming lazily on the vast, baby blue sky which reflected on his own electric blue eyes. Was this…really the place he thought it to be?

But—look at those trees, those leaves, those birds, all of them are  _normal_. And don't forget about the _sky_! The  _sun_! Gehenna was  _never_  this beautiful. No matter how many millennia had already passed, no matter how many seasons changed, that hell could never _, ever have_ equated the beauty of this world.

A tired but happy tear rolled down, his lips form a slight smile.

Was this really Assiah? His home?

 _Their_  home?

"Ah!  _Kimi_   _ga me o samashite imasu."_

Rin started. With instinct alone, he rushed to grab his Kurikara and held it ahead, distancing himself with the voice he never knew before. Rin was unconsciously aware that he'd bared his fangs, hissing like Kuro used to when he met an unknown and powerful demon before. The boy stood before him having brown and, maybe, the wildest and fluffiest hair he ever met. His brown-orange eyes widened, dumbfound when Rin's sword suddenly swung and nearly grazed his nose. His hands tightened around the tray—a bowl of soup, a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin—and his shoulder tensed for a moment before it relaxed and his mouth tugging upward a bit, smiling a calming smile. Without putting down his trustworthy sword, he eyed the teen, who put down the tray he brought on a small table and sat beside the bed with hands folds together around the thighs.

" _Kimi wa tsuitachi ne~Kimi no kimochi wa dōdesu ka?_ "

Rin narrowed his eyes, moving the sword for a bit, the red thread circling the Kurikara's hilt bouncing and making a jingling sound for a moment. They stared at each other awkwardly, too much tension they could cut it with a knife. Before the stranger then pounced his hand to another one lightly, breaking the silence. The sound felt like it reverberated inside the room, Rin's flinched for a second and grip the sword more tightly.

" _Kimi, ore ga itte iru mono o rikai shite imasu ka?_ " it looks like Rin's confusion show on his face as the teen scratched his head, looking very trouble and kind of exasperated, "Hmm… _tabun, betsu no gengo_? Che ne dici di questo?"

Rin blinked.

The brown-haired boy continued, looking very absorbed, ignoring everything, including Rin's gaping mouth.

" _Dangsin-eun jigeum naleul ihae habnikka_ _?_ Apakah kau berasal dari Indonesia? _Zhōngguó zé._  Wait, English maybe? Oh!  _Kӧnnen Sie deutsch verstehen?_ "

The blue-haired boy's jaw opened and closed like a dying fish in dire need of water, staring in something akin of awe. Then, realizing his mistake, his expression turned horrified before he spoke with a croaked voice, unsure of himself, " _C-Chotto_. I-I understand Japanese." the grip on his sword relaxed slightly, he unconsciously lowered it, dropping his guard. But he didn't care for that moment, didn't care that maybe the boy in front of him was an enemy and trying to distract him so he could strike at the right time, no.

Right now he felt utterly nostalgic.

He never knew he will speak this language _again_. The first time he set foot in Gehenna, he had to speak in demon speaking or torture was his answer. Egyn taught him how to speak with manner, full of authority when he presented himself in front of an audience. Too much time spent inside that hell, he forgot for a while that he was born in the human realm. Rin's tongue felt strange speaking his mother language, however, but he'll manage. The fluffy haired boy looked relieved, as he slumped down and posture turned more relaxed.

" _Hontou? Yokatta~_  I couldn't speak Chinese and German very well. Their pronunciation was too hard to remember, I—" He stopped abruptly, glancing around the room, searching for whatever it was that made him so nervous. Before scratching the nape of his neck sheepishly and asked Rin with a low voice, "did Reborn hear that?"

He thought he was imagining things, but Rin surely saw something like a black ball blurred so fast, his demonic eyesight couldn't see nor comprehend what was that thing. Not long after that, Rin blinked his eyes when the petite teenager suddenly fell down, face kissing the tiled floor, as he swiveled his sword back to the front, ready to defend himself if it was an enemy attack. Though maybe it was a false alarm as he saw a six years old kid standing on top of the teenager's back. And, wait a sec—was that kid _really_  wearing a black suit and fedora?

His tiny leg held the brown haired teen head with force a kid should never have, Rin couldn't comprehend his talking beside the groan and some garbled sentence, "of course I  _did_ , Dame-Tsuna. As a punishment, you'll have to re-read those language dictionaries tonight. Don't sleep before I say you can."

Another groan, another incomprehensible talk. Those black beady orbs then snapped his view on Rin's, narrowed with thought and lips formed a tight line. The half-demon had to suppress a shudder, unconsciously gripping the hilt so hard his knuckles turned white. With those gazes alone, he felt that this kid could see till the deepest of his heart, it was scary. His black beady eyes stared at him up and down, chubby fingers clasped on his chin. Before he nodded, looking very satisfied though Rin didn't know what.

"Dame-Tsuna, he's good." The kid lifted his foot slightly, giving the teenage boy a little space to breathe, "raw but good. You should ask him to join your  _family_."

" _What?!_  Reborn,  _no!_ " the black-suited kid—Reborn was his name—pressed his foot again and made the teenage—was Dame-Tsuna really his name?—faced the floor for the second time. With a little struggle here, the side of his face was visible from behind those brown tuft he called hair and continue speaking, "he's sick and he's a civilian. I'll never involve him _with_ …with…" he hesitated, his honey brown wide eyes looking back and forth between Reborn and the blue-haired teen. Rin tilted his head in bemusement, "with your  _game_ , Reborn!"

Reborn snorted. With one graceful hop, he landed beside the boy and walking away, "he's involved at the second you saved him, my stupid student" he murmured.

He dusted his cloth and straightening the wrinkle on his—it looks like a school uniform; with a black vest draped on top of a white T-shirt and black pants. The boy frowned (but it looks like a pouted) for a while before he sat facing Rin, who was still clutching his sword like a lifeline. He tried not to flinched whenever that weapon came to close to his face (the sealed on that thing was so powerful, his hyper intuition flare in caution for a minute) and opted to sit upright with hands in front of his body to let him know that he means no harm, "I'm sorry for confusing you. Ah right, I haven't introduced myself, right?" he put his right hand on his chest, tilting his head to the side slightly, "my name's Sawada Tsunayoshi. You can call me Tsuna.  _Yoroshiku-ne_."

Ah, so his name's Tsuna. Make senses though, being there was no parent who'll name their own son with a degrading name such as Dame-Tsuna like that, Rin mused. "And he's Reborn." Tsuna then held his hand and pointed toward the black suit kid who was now sipping on a coffee—from the smell his enhanced nose caught. But wait,  _when_  did he get that drink? "He may look like a kid— _ouch_ " he yelped, caressing his side as Reborn jab him for his careless remark, "yeah he hate that if someone looked down upon him. But he's my tutor. You could ask him everything you wanna know."

Rin's eyebrows rose when he heard Tsuna muttered something within a line, " _'cause he's a stalker._ " Before Reborn reminds him again with a smack, Tsuna let another hiss of pain.

"So, what's your name?" he asked, fingers curling on a bump that growing between his brown tuft of a hair. A charming smile plastered on that silky skin, it warmed Rin and butterfly fluttered inside his stomach (such a  _calming_  smile, he looks like a  _sky_ ; accepting  _everything_  within open arms).

Rin slowly, deliberately put his sword down—the boy sighed in relief. The weapon now rests on his lap, fingering the intricate that decorated it hilt, "Okumu— _Iie_ …" he shook his head and corrected itself, "Rin. _Just_ …Rin."

He knew he made Tsuna suspicious of him, as there was no one who didn't have any family name. It's not like Rin hates his family name—instead, he loves, almost  _cherished_ , that particular name. Because that was the only thing that connected him with his late foster father and brother. It was just that, although Tsuna looks like a nice boy, like an ordinary schoolboy he always encountered in the True Cross Academy, he had learned from experienced not to judge a book by its cover (take a look at himself. Who would have  _thought_  a silly, immature teenager who always slept in class, sucked at everything besides picking a fight, was the son of the  _most powerful_  demon that had killed many people,  _the king_  of all impure being; Satan's  _son?_ ). He prefers to stay on the safe side. Moreover, nobody knows, maybe someone will recognize an 'Okumura'; as either the former pastor or the greatest paladin in his time? Rin didn't want his freedom snatched away again from his grasp because of an exorcist after he struggled enough for two years that felt like an eternity.

Tsuna furrowed his eyebrows in question, honey brown eyes trying to identify his expression that Rin tried to keep blank as much as possible—he failed miserably, of course. His (former) friends said that his expression was like an open book. Before Tsuna then shrugged his shoulders, feeling that maybe it was not his place to inquire any further, "okay then, Rin-san. How's your feeling? Anything hurt?"

Rin prodded every inch of his not-so-slender-but-not-too-bulky-either body, grimacing in pain when he unknowingly touched the hematoma on his left chest and stomach. Tsuna turned panicked for a minute, gushing about his wellbeing, but Rin flinched and inched away, it made Tsuna stopped on his track, a hurt expression suddenly surfaced on his face. Rin tried not to felt guilty because he knew Tsuna means well and the brunette just trying to help him recover. However, he registered pain only without the slightest compassion over the past two years —including Egyn, the nice demon he ever encounter from his past life, never have any physical contact with him, except when they have a sparring contest so Rin's skill didn't turn rusty, made him wary of a no matter tiny, slight touch without considering the trauma he got when he stayed at that so-called home, "were you…were you the one who  _saved_  me?"

"Oh. Yeah. You fell from the tree and your body full of injuries so I brought you home. My mother treated your wound. So, try not to move so much because the stitch on your stomach will re-opened." Tsuna explained.

It took a few minutes for Rin to understand his sentence that he just spoke a while ago. But, when he realized the meaning behind those words, Rin blanched. He unconsciously clutched the orange sheet that covered his entire body, "does…does that mean—"

"— _you saw_ it _?_ "

Tsuna blinked once then twice, Reborn putting away his cup so he could observe their interaction more carefully. A second passed, Tsuna snapped his finger as his eyes turned dark. The shadow that fell on his face made the harmless looking boy suddenly turned more feral, more  _dangerous_. Rin swore he caught it, albeit just a glimpse of it that his orbs changed from honey-brown to honey-red, he shivered involuntarily. Mouth set in a thin line, a scowled marred his complexion, "yeah. I saw _it_  curled on your body." Tsuna tch'ed, fist clenched into a tight ball, relaxed, clenched again. The brunette let out a long soft breath and focused his attention back to the said person Tsuna felt obligated to protect, hence that small moment he was trying to suppress his feeling of wanting to punch someone, " _ne_ , Rin. Are yo—"

But he didn't have any time to ask his question after he was aware of Rin's current condition. He saw his red pupil contracted; sweat flow profusely on his white sheet face.

 _Someone saw_ my _tail. Someone knew_ I'm _a demon._

 _They'll call an exorcist. They'll_ capture _me._

 _They'll kill_ me _, they'll_ KILL _me!_

_._

White face and hand quivering, he hyperventilated.

.

 _Blue fire—_ his dad _covered in_ blue _fire—maniac laughter—scream—a pocket knife_ swung _—blood_ sprayed _all over his face._

 _Blue fire—_ his brother _covered in_ blue _fire—tail swishing_ madly _—_ his friends'  _corpses sprawled on the tiled floor—blood_ pouring _from their delicate body._

 _Blue fire—_ his brother _covered in blue fire—_ gun _tapped beside his_ temple _—a_ bang _reverberated inside his skull—a_  falling  _figure._

.

The memories kept playing like a fragment of a movie all chopped up and sewn back together again, hideously distorted, but clearer than the two-edged sword as they rushed by, circling lazily as if enjoyed the bluenette torment. The stabbing, screaming, shooting, all of the bad sensations came back in a fury. His forehead was drenched with sweat, and his heart rate pounded out to a dangerous rhythm that made Rin dizzy as the rest of his body felt now—there was no other word for it—jiggled and off balance. He was feeling light-headed and his brain felt hot and fuzzy. It was  _too_ much! It all caused him to arch in discomfort, groaning as the weight came on full force.

_._

Chains _rattled inside the empty basement—hand felt_ numb _—skin_ raw  _and_ red _—_ blood _dripping slowly._

 _Red fire—water splashed—he_ screamed _._

_._

Tsuna's eyes changed back to its original color, looking alarmed with Rin's sudden change of behavior. As he saw those eyes glazed over, mouth opened in a silent scream, Tsuna bolt as fast as a bullet. His previously murderous face disappeared as concern took over, horrified by his patient's action.

Rin was having a _terrible_  seizure!

"Rin-san! Rin-san,  _snap out_  of it!" he tried to reach him, tried to shake his shoulder so he'll wake up from whatever vision he had right now. But the sword on his lap suddenly let out a  _blue_ lightning. It  _crackled_  like a storm, surrounding his body. Tsuna ebbed away, cautious with the barrier that suddenly formed from the teenager's uncontrollable emotions.

He hesitated. Not like the yesterday night, when he felt that lightning exude warm even though slightly wary feeling. Now they acted like a wild animal, trying to defend their territory, it  _looks_ dangerous. Before he then finally set his choice, eyes hardened in absolute resolution. No matter, Rin was in jeopardy and need help.  _Fast_.

Within a blink, Tsuna lunged forward, hand outstretched to the front and he swung it with enough force—penetrating the electrical shields, which now began to change its direction to the body of the presumed enemy who has an ill intent to hurt his master—he _gritted his teeth in_  agony—

PLAK

Rin snapped awake, his electric blue eyes slowly but clearly surface back to its normal place. He saw Tsuna, out of breath, hand reddened and burns covered on the corner of some of his delicate fingers. Realization dawned on him, as he peered at his sword that let out it final crackle before it died away. Horror struck, Rin scrambled away from Tsuna outstretched arm, "s-stay  _away_ …" he wrapped his body inside a blanket, eerily similar like a cocoon, attempted to make another barrier after the first one gone, though he knew it was fruitless.

"Rin-san…I'm sorry I didn't mean to—"

" _STAY AWAY!_ " he exclaimed. Tsuna cringed when he heard his cracked voice; full of distrusted, anger, fear, pain, betrayal, guilt, guilt,  _guilt_. The whirling of negative emotion he poured out attacked him with full force, it hurt. Rin whimpered, head dropped on his embraced knee, sob wreaking his entire body, "stay away…stay away.  _Please_ …stay  _away_  from me…"

 _(I don't want to_  hurt _anyone_ anymore _!)_

Tsuna stopped advancing when Reborn put his tiny hand on his shoulder, head shaking slowly, telling him to drop it for now. His beady black eyes stealing a glance at Tsuna's red hand, the said boy flinched sheepishly when Reborn show his displeasure with his rash decision. His mouth moves  _'later'_  before he walked out of the room albeit hesitantly. He glanced at the teen, who was still curling up on the guest bed, his hair sticking on his forehead as sweat kept pouring, drenched his broad—but looks _so small_ right now—figure.

"Don't forget to eat, Rin-san," Tsuna reminded him, though he didn't know with Rin condition right now, will he heard his suggestion or not, "and… _I'm sorry_."

Then the door closed with a soft thump.

* * *

" _Nii-chan!_ Nii-chan _, I wanna play that!" the child Yukio pointed his chubby finger on the lone swing, "come on! Come on! I_ wanna _play that!"_

" _Okay, okay geez. You have to slow down or you're gonna…"_ PLOP _, "…fall."_

 _Yukio sat on top of the green grass, his brown wide eyes staring at the bleeding knee. Mouth quivered slightly before he let out a deafening cry. Rin sighed in exasperation. He approached his little twin brother, hands closing Yukio's injured knee, "pain…pain…_ go away _." he chanted as his hands flailing wildly in every direction, "pain…pain…_ GO AWAY! _"_

" _Feeling better?" Rin asked his bemused brother, head tilting to the side. Yukio nod automatically, it made Rin smile his famous wide smile, white teeth slightly peeking between his rosy lips, "then what are you waiting for? Let's play that swing! I'll push you."_

 _Yukio stared for a while before he wiped his tears clean and showed the older brother his own blinding smile, "_ hai! _"_

* * *

Rin's eyes instantly open. The blue orbs examined the half-empty room, as he finally aware that the eventful occurrence this morning—when he found himself back in Assiah (his home, _their_ home!), met Tsuna and his mentor who had saved him, knowing that they knew his… _secret_ —was not a  _mere_ dream, but a reality—a nice, sweet  _reality_ mixed with bitter feeling. Once glance of an orange sky made him realized, that his blind panic before wore him out, he unconsciously felt asleep. His body stiff from sleeping in an awkward position, sitting on the corner of the bunk, and some of the wound he received from the goblin twanged painfully.

He didn't heed nor care about his injuries, though. Since at the moment, his mind was focused on just one goal.

He  _had_  to get  _out_  from here.

It was not like he didn't felt grateful for the kindness Tsuna and his mother displayed at him, taking care of a stranger that they met only for the first time. Yet he  _knew,_  from his experience so far, all of their pretense kindness will vanish when they knew he was not an ordinary child,  _not a human_ ; but rather, a vile  _demon_. They  _definitely_ saw his bonus limb—Tsuna  _especially_ said that he saw it  _curling_ on his entire body—and he'll not squander his little luck for waiting his demon's healing kicking in and threatened being caught by Griggori and co. for a second time, no. He'll escape from their grasp.

And stay alive, like his  _promise_  to Yukio.

Rin got up, snatched his trusted weapon and opened the window. Speaking of which, he himself felt like, with his presence alone, he already  _besmirches_ this humble home. So it was prudent of him to leave this place as soon as he could. Rin stops short immediately, however, before he began absorbing the entire environment, a feeling of deja-vu and foreign at the same time enveloping his entire figure. The sky looks so welcoming, cloud swimming lazily and birds chirping happily.

How he miss this scenery badly, so bad it made him choked his own saliva—true to said, when someone wise enough with his/her life said to you that you'll never appreciate something, not before it finally disappears,  _gone forever_ , from your sight; sun shining dimly on the vast, orange slightly maroon sky, wind caressing his pale skin, he drew a long breath—

"Demon, demon~" Rin stiffened, taken aback so suddenly as he stops awkwardly beside the windowsill, face paled when a high-pitched voice drummed his ears. A toddler wearing a cow tight suit then came strolling in, a pair of yellow horn peeked from his mess of curly hair. His green eyes lit up when he saw Rin and, with a loud laughter, he jumps onto his lap and touch his arm—Rin retracted it almost immediately, " _you're_  the demon, blue-haired Nii-chan!"

His heart stopped for a second.

He _knew_. Rin breathed in and out. They  _totally_  knew!

" _Mou_ , Lambo!" Rin whipped his head upward, looking at the short, brown-haired woman that stood in front of the ajar door. She was wearing a pink, full of hearts and flower apron while her hand held a first-aid kit box loosely, "Rin is sick. You shouldn't bother with him."

"But Lambo-sama had touched him. Lambo-sama  _demanded_  him to be 'it'!*" the toddler—Lambo—pout childishly.

"Then I'll be the 'it', Lambo." Another voice could be heard around the corner that belonged to an eleven years old kid. A white strip black scarf wrapped around his neck, some of it covering his sandy brown hair. On his shoulder, sit another toddler—was it a boy or a girl?—black haired done in a tight braid and wearing some kind of Chinese clothing. The boy put his hands on his hips and mouth formed a tight line, trying to mimic a scolding mother, "but leave Rin—nii-chan alone. Or I-pin and I will eat all of the desserts!"

"Wuaah Fuuta,  _no faaiir_!" he jumps and ran quickly, chasing the laughing boy while screaming on top of his lungs to _stop right there_  and  _don't eat_  Lambo-sama's  _cakes_! Rin stared at their disappearing figure, dumbfound and bemused about what the heck has just happened. A soft giggle startling him from his reverie made him aware of another presence beside himself inside the room he occupied right now.

"Excuse those kids. They really love playing tag." She sat beside his bed, opening the first-aid kit box and pulled out some white rolled-gauze accompanied by a bottle of antiseptic.

"Tag…"

"Uh-huh. They usually play it with Tsu-kun, but my little boy was in school right now. And he said that he'll come home late as he has a group study in Yamamoto's house." She hummed.

"Oh…" he let out a long breath that he unconsciously held, suddenly feeling relief and very exhausted. So the toddler was talking about playing tag, huh? Maybe Tsuna knew something  _bad_ going to happen if someone knew about his weird, yet existed, limb so he closed his mouth.

By the way, the woman in front of him was Tsuna's mother, right? Their resemblance was very uncanny. Rin still wondering how could Tsuna have that wild hair that definitely defied the law of gravity, however, as his mother's hair was quite straight without any spike or curl at all. Maybe he had that kind of ridiculous looking hair from his father? "um…Sawada-san."

Rin stopped when the matriarch wiggling his fingers to the right and left, a ghost of a smile appeared at the corner of her lips, though he could saw a disapproving glint on her honey orbs clearly, "no, no. Sawada-san makes me feel old. Just Nana is okay. Or mama, like Reborn and others call me."

" _Ma_ —" the shock Rin felt was not unusual really, considering the woman before him just asked him-a  _stranger_!-to call her nickname. Rin could never do that, let alone calling her 'mama'—that's basically asked him to accept a new mother (well, he never saw nor  _meet_ his own mom though). He shook himself from his stupor, feeling his stomach churned and do a flip-flop, but he didn't know  _what_  kind of feeling he experienced right now, "um…Nana-san then."

Maybe it was a feeling of  _embarrassment_ , that someone treated him like a child he should have been? (he _didn't_  hate it, however).

Or an _acceptance_ , that someone saw him as another  _human_  being?

Why though, either with the son or his mother, Rin felt something _warm_ flowing within him?

Never, except his brother and maybe Izumo (though with her own way of tsundereness), in his life, Rin felt so accepted like this. He wants to  _stay_ here, wants to stay  _basked_ in their  _warm_ , charming smile.

_(Like a sky.)_

Nana's smile widened even for a bit, her eyes closed in satisfied, "then, will you lie down for a while?" she asked, "I have to check the stitching on your stomach and change the bandage with a new one."

But as instantly as the feeling of happiness came, it vanished as quickly as it came also, and Rin's little color on his complexion he managed to recovered, disappear in a minute, "wait a  _sec_ —" he didn't even have a time to refused when the housewife of Sawada family pushed his body onto the soft bed gently but surely— _damn_ , who would have thought that behind that sweet face, she had a fairly strong power? Nevertheless his injuries restrained Rin's actual prowess, he should have not down with one touch, especially it came from a human being—and threw aside the orange blanket that engulfed his figure for the past hour—which he just realized that he was not wearing anything besides an underwear and white bandages covered his body, from his broad chest till his abdomen.

Rin shut his eyes, feeling a dread washing over him as he waited for a scream or disgusted mock flowing from the nice lady mouth.

But second, changed to a minute, minutes changed to an hour (or he felt it that way, though maybe his brain was just exaggerating a bit because his fear already overwhelmed his rational mind). But the said ridiculed he expected never came. Rin's eyelashes slowly, clearly fluttered open and he looked down—

He _stilled_  like a stone; didn't move, didn't even  _breath_.

"It finished~" her sing-song voice brought him back to reality—Rin didn't notice that in the middle of his reverie, Nana had finished cleaning his wound. Moreover, pain that he should have felt when that antiseptic sprayed on the gaping wound was supposed to warn him. He should have felt relief that it means, his demon's healing was working and he'll recover in no time.

However, his mind was now occupied with  _something_ ; something he never thought  _will_  happen, something which he knew was  _forever lost_  and was just the sheer of his puerile wish. The second Nana retracted her hands, Rin bolted to another door beside the main one, near the wardrobe. He vaguely heard Nana said something like 'don't hurt yourself inside the bathroom' and a soft voice of a door being closed, indicating that the mother of Sawada family finally leaving the room.

He _ignored_  it completely. Even when those three kids running amuck in front of the guest room, it made the wooden floor rattle and his head ache. Even when his body began to shiver with cold from the lack of clothing, wearing only a boxer without socks. He _totally_  didn't care about it right now, completely blocking the entire of his surrounding (it was a  _fatal mistake_  if he was in the middle of a fight, Egyn taught him. But just like he said before)

 _(I._ Don't _. Care!_ ).

What he  _tried_  to understand right now was his figure that reflected on the mirror that mounted on the wall a bit lower than his eyesight. Looking at  _something_ that should have been accompanied him even when he was asleep,  _something_  that has become a part of his life,  _something_  that identified him that he was _not_ a human being—

"…gone."

.

.

.

" _My_ tail's _…gone_ "

* * *

**Translations:**

_Sayonara_  : a farewell that means he will never come back forever

Ah!  _Kimi_   _ga me o samashite imasu_ : (Japanese) Ah, you finally up.

 _Kimi wa tsuitachi ne~ :_ (Japanese) You slept all day.

 _Kimi no kimochi wa dōdesu ka?_  :(Japanese) How's your feeling?

 _Kimi, ore ga itte iru mono o rikai shite imasu ka?_ : (Japanese) Do you understand what am I saying?

Hmm… _tabun, betsu no gengo_? : (Japanese) Hmm…maybe another language?

Che ne dici di questo? : (Italian)How about this?

 _Dangsin-eun jigeum naleul ihae habnikka_ _?_ : (Korean)Do you understand me now?

Mungkinkah kau berasal dari Indonesia? : (Indonesian) Maybe you came from Indonesia?

 _Zhōngguó zé :_ (Chinese) Chinese then.

Oh! Kӧnnen Sie deutsch verstehen? : (Germany) Oh! Do you understand Germany then?

 _Chotto_ : wait (informal)

 _Hontou_? : really?

 _Yokatta_ : I'm glad/ I'm relieved

 _Yoroshiku-ne_  : nice too meet you

*'It' could be interpreted as 'demon' in Japanese tag.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Izumo was really the first one who approached Rin after his identity as a demon came out though. I think it was when she took a seat next to Rin on a bus, I don't know...
> 
> Sorry guys. I just couldn't help myself to inserted my mother language; Indonesian. But yeah Japan already established a connection with Indonesia y'know? With Miku concert held in Jakarta two years ago…I think? I didn't attend it, sorry, I'm not Vocaloid fans. Though Len reminds me of Roxas from Kingdom Hearts game, my very first fav animation character that I falling in love with lol.
> 
> Tsuna's decision to use another language was justified, though. He already experienced what it called 'parallel world(s)', 'future world', etc, etc, it was not weird for him to guess that Rin was not from around here and maybe some kind of technology brought him here to Namimori, just like Lambo's ten years bazooka. It was not an everyday occurrence for him to met a teenager who suddenly fell from a tree, right?
> 
> I don't know why but this chap felt like a filler to me. A too-much-words-and-too-long filler.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not important. I just wanna tell you guys that my favorite guardian in Tsuna's Famiglia is Ryohei. I don't know...maybe because his presence was always forgotten by KHR fans ('cause his characteristic was kinda same with Gokudera and Squalo (for his loudmouth) and Tsuna (for his choice of weapon) and I kinda took a pity of him. And I actually forgot about him before I re-write this chap lol. Or maybe because when I dubbed his shout of EXTREEEEMMMEE! he's sound...cute to me.
> 
> So...yeah. Therefore, his appearance kinda important here for Tsuna's psychical health. Keep it up, Ryohei! I'm rooting for you! -w-
> 
>  
> 
> Beta'ed by Notepadhalffull

Hayato pouted; or his fans said, though he insisted that he didn't do something so childish but glare manly.

"Haya-chan! Haya-chan! Come on! Guess which hand I hid my eraser in!"

"Urgh! Can it, baseball freak! You piss me off!"

They have been doing that for the last thirty minutes.

Every day without fail, those two will always come to fetch Tsuna from his comfy house so they could walk to school together, and protect their beloved boss form potential Mafioso and assassin as well. They briskly walk, accompanied by their famous banter; or Hayato doing all the screaming and threatening to bomb Takeshi to the next country while the said baseball lover just laughs and sometimes slap his back in a friendly manner. They shut their mouth as they arrived at Sawada residence and call (read: shout in Hayato stead) caramel-orange eye boy's name with "hurry up Tsuna! Or we'll gonna be late!" and "don't be so disrespectful to Juudaime like that, you  _doofus_!"

But, rather than the fluffy, wild brown tuft of the said Tsuna, they got a straight, light color of his mother instead, "oh, good morning, you two."

"Good morning, Mama-san!" Hayato bow, hand clasped beside his thigh. It takes a long time and much persuading from boss to made Hayato call the matriarch of Sawada "mama". And from time to time, he still blushed and stuttered especially when Nana gave him a wide and full of pride smile, "do you reckon where Juudaime is?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to call you before, that Tsu-kun went to school just a moment ago. Maybe you miss him."

"Alone?" Takeshi flicked his eyebrows up. Tsuna going to school alone sounded so ridiculous to him.

Well, it was an understanding, even Hayato felt wrong with that. After his coronation as a Tenth boss of Vongola Famiglia, some of the enemy's Family will send an assassin or hitman to kill the said Brunette. They thought he was just a kid, and Nono finally going insane to candidates someone as weak as Tsuna as the leader of international Mafia. There was a time when one of the hired Mafioso was cocky enough that he encountered the Sky user face to face; smirk adorned that ugly face and gun trained on Tsuna's forehead while the said soon-to-be victim huffed in irritation. The petite boy didn't have to lift a finger at all, as Takeshi was suddenly by the enemy's side, sword glinted dangerously under his chin. And Hayato shoves one of his lit dynamite inside his gaping mouth.

Suffice to say, the bastard only has a minor burn circling his mouth. But now when someone said 'Vongola' near him, he'll break down, muttered something about 'a  _demon_. All of  _them_ is a  _demon_!' then curled up into a ball in the corner and sucked his thumb.

That taught him to  _stop_ underestimating them, Hayato snorted.

"Don't worry you two. Reborn is with Tsu-kun, so he'll be okay."

Two guardians of Tenth generation sighed in relief. Reborn will never let the boy get hurt; whether by his own clumsiness or enemy's attack.

 _Except for t_ his own torture,  _that is._

"Though I never saw Tsu-kun's face so conflicted like that." Nana hummed, "maybe it was because of  _that_ boy's condition…"

"Boy?" they ask in unison.

There was a boy in Sawada's house right now?

Nana nodded, her son's problem forgotten for a while as she recalled last night occurrence, "Tsu-kun brought an injured friend yesterday. His state was so alarming, half of his body was burned and some broken bone…I'm afraid he'll go into a coma." Then the light brown hair woman smile, "though Tsu-kun said that the boy was finally awake, so I don't have to be worried anymore. He also said to leave him alone 'cause he needs some time to rest."

Green eyes met the dark blue orbs in a beat, sharing their though without saying anything. Someone was hurt that much and they didn't know that? From Nana's report just now, that injury was not inflicted by someone ordinary; psychopath or  _worse_ , flame user? Never mind them, how  _could_ Kyoya,  _that_ Kyoya the self-proclaim protector of Namimori and its residence,  _that_ Kyoya who knew everything in his lovely town miss that? The Italian boy held his chin between his thumb and index finger, he started to speculate every possibility. Yet before he could ask the mother another question, Takeshi suddenly slap Hayato's back for who-know-how-many and laughed out loud, he almost stumbled. Hayato steadied his foothold and gave the Rain his utmost death glare, though the said cheerful swordsman just waved it off; like always.

"haha! I bet Tsuna just forgot to do his homework. That's why he went to school early so he could copy some of your work, Haya-chan!"

"What the—is that true? Then, what are we waiting for! Come on, baseball freak!" Hayato started running, leaving the amused Takeshi and giggling Nana.

When they arrived, though, Tsuna was not in the class. Hayato almost has a near heart-attack. However an elbow on the rib awoke him and he starts cursing Takeshi like a sailor, some of his classmates blushed.

And that was how Hayato reached this stalemate, fuming himself while he has to endure every childish play Takeshi could ever think.

"Can you  _shut up_  for a minute?" Hayato pounds on the table and roared in frustration.

"But I'm bored~"

"Then ask someone  _else_ to play your stupid game!" he huffed, balancing his chin with one hand, "seriously, you have to be more serious. As a Rain Guardian, you—"

They stop abruptly as a shiver ran down their nape.

Hayato blanched. This sensation of constricted heart, or rather, his storm flame core was so wrong and painful that it takes few seconds for him to realize the dreaded meaning of it.

Tsuna 's emotion was in  _jumbled_.

And that was  _never_ a good sign.

Sometimes, it was just a trivial matter; like, maybe Tsuna was having a fever (though his guardians still fussed over him (Hayato, Takeshi, Ryohei, Chrome), laughed at him (Lambo), scolded him (Kyoya) or mocked him (Mukuro) for not taking care of his own health). Or maybe a slight panic of him for not doing his homework. Or he was late and Kyoya's eagerness to punish him was wearing him down. Hayato tried to calm his erratic heartbeat. He was inclined to believe that it was just all misunderstanding. That his boss is  _okay_ , that his Juudaime is  _fine_ and—

Another  _pain_ hit him like a tidal wave.

Sadness, frustration, anger, guilt,  _resignation_ , the torrent of emotions was too strong,  _too much!_ he almost vomits right there and then.

And judging from Takeshi who drank a bottle of mineral water in one gulp convinced him that he was not the only one.

BRAK

"Sawada!" As the sliding door was forced open, every single student saw a little disturbing view. Sasagawa Ryohei, the loud-mouthed boxer stood there, one hand on his hip while the other one clutching at his clothes pocket (his flame core definitely responded to Juudaime's erratic emotion, Gokudera grimaced as he knows how  _hurt_ that was), but why his presence was disturbing, it was because he was so silent. Senpai who always shout EXTREME! like his life depended on it, _was silent!_  they rubbed their eyes once or twice to convince themselves that their sight was not wrong.

Brows furrowed into one, eyes narrowed and fist tightened, he stalked toward the storm and rain, took one look at Takeshi and sighed dejectedly, "I hope this will not last long. Kyoko will worry."

DRAK KRAK

And for the second time ( _this is too much of a deja-vu!_ ), everyone sans Hayato, Ryohei and the still gagging Takeshi flinched while some of them whimper being temperature suddenly drop down, cold seeped inside the class and light flickering on and off like a stage of a haunted house. They didn't need to strain their neck to know who was the guest that, with his presence  _alone_ , could send a  _terror_ down their figure and caused fainted to even the biggest meanie and stubborn teacher.

Hibari Kyouya stood on top of window sill menacingly, light shadowing his dark cerulean orbs, fingers clenched the window frame so  _hard_ , it broke and left a spider-net mark on the smooth, glass surface. He swept the whole room till every nook and crook, dismissing gossiper whisper of 'this is the second floor', 'how could he jump so high without the help of a ladder or tree?' and 'well, he  _is_ Hibari' then zeroed his sharp gaze to the guardians/pack/friends/family of their sky, "where's the omnivore?"

Takeshi sighed as nausea washed away from his being, trying to ignore the taste of bile on his tongue and thanking Ryohei who was rubbing his back for a few minutes to calm his nerve before answering to Prefect question—more like  _demand_  actually, "we don't know" his smile vanished entirely and it turned into an apologized, shame plea, "Nana-san said that he went to school with Reborn and nothing's to be worry."

"But he still didn't arrive and something totally happens." Kyoya snorted, "then the woman herbivore was wrong." and turned to Hayato who was now rummaging his bag, cursing here and there being he has a difficulty to find what he needs to find inside his full of book and science equipment blue sling bag, "bomber herbivore."

"On it!" While four of the tenth generation of Vongola guardians busy with their own things, students and the recently arrived teacher tried to turn blind eyes on their activities. Or else, you have to face the wrath of Hibari; with or without tonfa. And both were  _painful_.

Also, they still have a slight nightmare of Tsuna's—terrifying, cold,  _murderous_ , but cool and  _handsome_  (some of the girls admitted with great reluctance)—gaze three days ago like it was yesterday and didn't dare to include themselves inside those dangerous people's conversation. They tuned out their low voice—not like they could hear it anyway—and proceeded to check and recheck their studies. With trembling hands and forehead was sweating bullet.

Hayato— _finally!_  Damn infinite bag!  _Figuratively_ —fished out his red cell phone, pressing the button with lightning pace for a while, before exclaiming in delighted though still tinted with great concern, "found him!" One black hair, one white spiky hair, and one dark gray almost black hair teens perked up. But before they could ask for the detailed information, they stop on their track as they saw Hayato's narrowed eyes and pale face. The said half-Italian bomber could only gape, stomach churned with dread before he shook himself and said in deep but trembled voice, "he's on the outskirt of the forest, near the cliff."

"What..." Takeshi suddenly hissed, so unlike him, and snatched the silver-haired teen's phone, dark blue eyes widening in horror when he saw a flickering orange dot in the corner of the screen, too close to death for his own liking, "...is he doing?!"

Tsuna never guessed that his clothes, shoes, socks, even his gloves, and headphone, a tiny tracking charm are attached securely courtesy of trio mechanics and Hayato's paranoid tendency. But the bodyguard of their—still pure, still  _innocent_ —sky of Vongola didn't object. And it turned out very useful in this kind of situation. Tsuna, because of his kind and charming nature, is a trouble magnet and  _have_  to be monitored 24/7, Reborn admonished that time, seconded by the storm and right-hand man of the fluffy brown haired boy.

"Oi, baseball freak! Keep  _yourself_  together!" He knew about the swordsman stunt in the middle school; when he was still a simple-minded boy as he tried to finished himself off just because he sprained his hand and have to rest from his favorite sport for weeks. He believed the baseball god (even Hayato questioning his mind that time. Baseball god,  _really_?) abandoned him, that he didn't have any reason to live anymore. If Tsuna was not there that time—and Reborn helped him with firing a dying will bullet on his head, though nobody  _knew_ that—maybe Takeshi will be not on the planet of living anymore.

That's why every guardian (except Lambo, because he was still a kid, Mukuro and Chrome, because they didn't know him at that time. They, at least, knew about his  _stupid_ doing though not all the detail) justified his overreacted reaction on someone who tried to end their life carelessly, especially if that someone didn't have enough reason to  _why_ they should leave their friend and family  _forever_. Hayato whispered, baritone low and harsh to woke Takeshi up from his froze stupor, "Juudaime's not suicidal and y'know it! So, stop hyperventilating, you pissed me off!"

The green eyes silverette will never admit it, but seeing the ever happy-go-lucky swordsman slash baseball player, always smiling and laughing at their crazy antics turned as white as paper, breath ragged and pupil contracted was rather concerning. Even the genius Hayato didn't know how to calm someone down as they relived their trauma unless he resorted to crude scolding.

Don't blame him, being Hayato was never a socialized person, he was more or so like Kyoya but not so distant like the said demon Prefect either. Awkward when other people were near him, without thinking that that person was befriending him because they want something from him; mafia made him wary either that person was a small, little toddler or a cripple, old man.

That was why he was so very, very grateful to Tsuna. Without his appearance in Hayato's small world, he'll never know what friend is, what _family_  is. That they didn't want anything from him beside his only presence, that he should  _care_ for his being and  _always_  by their side when in the happy or perilous situation.

Hayato knew, that Tsuna's other friends have the same opinion with him to a certain degree.

Though Kyoya will deny it with his famous grunt or Mukuro with his creepy laugh.

"Yeah, Takeshi! Tsuna's strong! He'll never sink so low like that!" Ryohei gave him a broad grin (half of the student who still watched their chat sighed in relief because this is the Ryohei they knew) and punched his back a little hard, Takeshi tumble, "you have to put your faith on him! He's our family, right?"

Takeshi took a deep breath, a small smile grace his lean face, "thanks, Hayato, Onii-san. I need that." Because he knew that the foreigner teen actually cared. That's the only reason he needs to be mad at him at his drawback just now. And Ryohei just didn't want to saw someone so depressed, because 'depressed' was not registered in the 'tough man' dictionary, as he put it simply.

"Che! You're hopeless!" Hayato grasped his phone from Takeshi's death grip and pocketed it inside his school coat safely. He turned sharply and ran straight to the back door then shouted, "let's go! Juudaime need us!"

The tall, broad teen nod in agreement and follow after him. While Hibari jumps from his perched and land gracefully on the smooth ground, startling the students at the first floor from their studies. Ryohei shout EXTREME! once and, like Hibari, jump out from the window although he lands on his butt first before he too, was out of Namimori's school gate in a flash.

And Tsuna's teacher and students shoulders  _finally_ sagged as the troublemakers were  _gone_ for now.

* * *

Hayato summons his trusted System CIA platform disk after they arrived at the supposed forest Tsuna was in, so they could ride on it and shortened the time for finding their beloved boss. Trees blurred as the owner increased it speed when another pain hit him squarely. Now it was just full of anger, it  _scared_ him. What  _happened?_  Did someone from their  _family_ got injured?

Takeshi gripped his katana so hard his knuckle turned white. Ryohei fingered his hand's bandage in nervousness. Kyoya scowled deepened till his face was contorted in ways Hayato never knew possible. While he himself was fingering a box of cigarettes inside his pants pocket. He didn't smoke anymore—Tsuna admonished him that he could contact a lung cancer and he didn't want one of his friends,  _family_  leave before his/her time—but it presence alone was enough to calm him so he was, at least, sober to think rationally; he was Tsuna's right-hand man, his second brain.

They arrive at a vast clearing, the Italian boy vaguely remember it as Tsuna's training ground when he learned Zero Point Breakthrough for the first time with Basil and Reborn, and step down from the platform as Mukuro and Chrome also arrived at the same time in a swirl of purple mist; Mukuro's usual taunting smirk was absent.

The said person they searched for the last thirty minutes was stood at the tip of the cliff, dangerously so when if one wrong footing and he'll fall down. His headphone was mounted comfortably on each of his ears, red gloves shone with sky flame—at least Hayato's worries was lessened now. Because if Tsuna will indeed fall, he'll fly back up. Their boss's back was turned on them, but the green orbs teen knew from his quivering shoulders, that the Neo-Vongola Primo was in distress. Reborn was also there, stood not too far but not too close either, small fingers caressing scared green lizard of his.

"Kufufu, Arcobaleno." Even when Reborn and the others were already free from their blasted curse, Mukuro still calls them with their former title; he said at least until Reborn was a full-grown man, then he'll stop calling him that. He surveyed his surrounding, trying to pinpoint the enemy location, or if there were any enemy at the first place at all, "what happened with Tsunayoshi-kun?"

"He's  _upset_." Reborn answer cryptically and swiftly. Hand movement suddenly stops in mid-air as he gripped his fedora down so hard it left creases, "brace yourself. He'll do it  _again_."

"What do you me—"

"AaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGGHHHHH!"

Hayato immediately clutched his heart—his flame core; in the corner of his sight, he saw the other was doing the same.

Granted Kyoya just stood there with a slight hunch and twitched eyebrows. While Mukuro's red eyes flashed a numerous kanji with a break-neck pace, blurred so fast it reminded Hayato of a pachinko machine in a pachinko parlor.

Tsuna's head was whipped up facing the sky, pure sky flame tinted with dark red wrath flame  _blazed_ furiously from his forehead and each of his hands, it towered till it reached for two or three meters. An agonized, raucous scream was ripped from his mouth—full of sadness, full of  _anger_ , it  _hurt_  to watch.

They couldn't do anything. As much as they want to approach him, they could only stand there motionlessly and helplessly. Even Kyoya, the aloof cloud which strongest poison in the world who couldn't chain him down ever, could only shut his eyes. Even Reborn, the greatest hitman in the world who always finished his enemy down with one shot of Leon-changed-into-gun, couldn't stop himself from gritting his teeth in pain while the said lizard crawled frantically before hiding himself inside of the ex-Arcobaleno black suit.

 _(It was no fair! He was so much in pain, and_ nobody  _helps him!_  They could hear his though as clear as diamond)

So, all of this because of other people misery? Hayato could only smile wryly. Trust his boss for upsetting over someone else's well-being.

 _(Why did everyone abandon him? Why can't_ I  _help him? Am I_ not  _strong enough? I'm_ useless _, aren't I?)_

 _No,_ Juudaime _, you're_ not _useless. Not_ at _all_.

His thought took a miserable turn, somebody  _has_  to help him.  _He has to help him!_ It was not his fault at all,  _so_ please  _stop blaming yourself Juudaime, we are here for you, we are_ —

"TSUNA-KUN!"

The silverette gasped as weight on his chest lift abruptly and in turn, moved to the sole of his shoes. Rather, the earth looks like pulling him down slightly, his body felt kind of heavy.

BRAK KRAK KRATAK KRAK

They snapped their attention up and readied their respective weapon when they thought that loud voice came from an unknown enemy's attack. But one look at a disheveled, dark red mop of a hair and face full of bandages, they lowered their guard and actually relieved that he came. Because with one of his gravitation power and Tsuna was subdued; now blinking owlishly as he stared at his apparent audience, eyes widened and jaw open.

"Guys? Enma?" He swiveled his head right and left, taking a good look at their pale and exhausted face, and turned worried right away, sky flame that was fizzed out from life just now light up for the second time, honey-brown orbs change into orange tinted with the red one, "what happened? Did someone attack you? Where? Where is—"

As soon as he opens his mouth though, Tsuna's rant stop on track when he felt a tiny little feet land on his face, it made him lose his balance and fall ungracefully on his back with a small thump. He knew right away who was the perpetrator, being the said sadist have a gun barrel pointed between his eyes, "that. Was your fault, Dame-Tsuna." Reborn's breath was ragged also, what was  _happen_ exactly?

Tsuna tried to ask but clamp it up when Reborn digs the heel of his shoe harder onto the brown spiky haired teen's chest who wheezes in return, "you lost your emotion.  _Again_."

The boss of Vongola was silent for seconds before eyes widening and flame finally has gone for good, realization dawn upon him. He... _lost_  his emotion; he  _lost_  control of his flame. The  _purest_ sky flame Vongola ever had, the sky flame who has been harmonized with every one of his beloved people, harmonized so _smoothly_  and  _beautifully_  it can affect other people flame core like it was his own.

It means, when Tsuna was feeling happy, other will also feel serene and despite the dark society they living, everything was never wrong, everything was  _fine_. But if Tsuna was hurting,  _emotionally_  or  _physically_ , then the other will react badly too; either they'll going berserk or hurting beyond belief. The consequence of harmonizing with a pure sky flame was  _bad_ that Tsuna promised them he'll rein his flame at bay when he was feeling the worst, so he'll not worried or hurting his best and loyal friends; especially his guardians, his fellow of Sky user, or in Enma and Reborn case, Earth user, and ex-Arcobaleno will receive the backlash as strong as his dilemma at that moment.

And Tsuna  _broke_  that promise.

He felt _miserable_. No wonder their face was so white, he instantly remembers that he has been doing this—flowing out his sky flame forcefully, dangerously so and if it continued till the next minutes, Tsuna will be fainted for sure because of flame exhaustion—for at least one hour, it must be tortured to them. Tsuna's sat down after Reborn leaves his side and taking a good look at his  _friends, family, mine!_  Hayato, Takeshi, Ryohei, Chrome, and Enma scrunched their face in worry. Mukuro creepily laughed though it definitely was forced. Kyoya and Reborn dark eyes gleam in irritation. At least, Lambo was not here; he's still  _so_ young. What if his flame reacted like them, he'll be in so much  _pain_ —Tsuna has to buy some ice cream as an apology. His heart clenched, head down, he clicked his tongue and swallowed the saliva convulsively.

"I-I'm sorry...guys. I..." Tsuna clenched his finger around dirt, "looks like I'm  _still_  a no-good Tsuna, huh?"

WHACK

Tsuna blinked once and twice before he whimpered being registered the pain on top of his head. Kyoya pocketed his bulked weapon to God-know-where and decide to lean his figure on the trunk, hands folded in front of his chest, eyelids closed. Tsuna stares at him in puzzlement. It takes months, but now he knew Kyoya's way of showing affection to other people; though it still included hitting that said dear person with a tonfa. He was shaken out from his stupor when a slender hand appeared in his view. Before he traced it upward and found out that it was Chrome's. She smiles and grabbed Tsuna's wrist to help him stand on his feet.

"Boss's not useless. Because you're our kind boss, always priorities other people need before your own." She dusted his clothes while at the same time checking if Tsuna has external injuries; Ryohei was doing the same, judging from sun flame particles float around his boss body. She frowned when she saw burned gash curling around his delicate fingers, but then relaxed as Ryohei done his job perfectly; she could saw his twisted brow being he too, realized that his little brother was injured albeit not too worrying. After she was satisfied enough—she'll leave the proper checking to the Sun Guardian—Chrome straightened her back, "as long as boss didn't wallow in self-hatred for long, it was not healthy, you know?"

"Kufufu...she's right Tsunayoshi-kun." Mukuro flipped his hair back to show his annoyed heterochromatic eyes, "your thought was too loud, it disturbed my beauty sleep. If you do that again, I'll project your worst nightmare every day without rest."

Tsuna should have shrieked in horror and ran as far as he could. Because _damn_ , Mukuro was a master of illusionist, his gruesome imagination had looked so real lately. However, though, Tsuna smiled gratefully. Like Kyoya, Mukuro shows a roundabout way of showing his care. And don't forget about Reborn—who was still caressing his gun right now—he likes to shoot him near the head, with dying will or  _real_ bullet _my god_ , if Tsuna was feeling down in the slightest.

"Hn. Only female herbivore sleep in this kind of time."

"Why, you little skylark." His trident came with a swirl of mist, in the meantime, Kyoya grabs his trusted tonfa and went to do a 'small' spar in the background, the other just shook their head in resignation. A low chuckle escaped Tsuna's small lips.

He loves his family.

"Yup. All end well~" Enma hopped up from his crouched position and cracked his tired neck, giving a shy smile to the shell-shocked Tsuna; forgetting that Enma, who should be in Okinawa, now was here, "you look like shit, Tsuna-kun." And yeah, he learned some colorful word after has been around Hayato and Varia for so long, Adelheid was furious; she went to Varia headquarter while dragging the swearing silver-haired teen and properly rammed 'how to speak manner near a child' to every person present, even the rebel boss got one. However, Tsuna was sure he'll never apply it in real life. Hayato...at least he didn't do it in front of the pure sky user, although there were times he somehow slipped when he was annoyed at something or someone; mainly Lambo.

"Enma? Why are you here?" Because it actually took half a day for him to visit Namimori. Unless...

"I came here using my private jet. Don't worry, Adelheid gave me a permission." Just like Tsuna predicted, "oh, and, by the way, you should prepare for the worst. If I myself responded to your inner turmoil, then..."

Enma snickered as Tsuna blanched, finally realizing the dangerous situation he was in. Oh boy, he was careless! If the redhead came here, even though he should have enjoyed the deserved vacation after being cooped up inside his study to finish those abominable paperworks, and went as far as to use his own private jet, then that's mean—

"TSUUUUU—"

_"CHAAAAAANNNN!"_

_Oh no, here he comes!_

Tsuna  _duck_ , being a harsh gust of wind went past him and the next moment he heard a loud crack from behind. They turned their head to look at Byakuran Gesso, with his angel look-alike wings sprouted from his back and the whole face hugging the thick trunk ( _did he fly all the way here from Italy?!_ ) He pouted, fingers caressing his red swollen face. Though just as he recognized Tsuna—who was gaping at him—he plastered his wide, blinding smile. Before Tsuna could evade to the side, Byakuran was already upon him, squishing the honey-brown orbs teen to death.

"Tsu-chan! Why are you avoiding me?" Byakuran whined, wiping Tsuna's not-so-chubby-anymore cheek with his own, "Bya-kun's  _worried_."

He could hear someone was gagging in disgust; Hayato or Mukuro? "Because this is what I want to avert from you." Tsuna slaps Byakuran too tight hand around his neck so fast, "urgh, Byakuran. You choke m— _EEEP!_ "

Tsuna shrieks immediately upon his footing was suddenly gone, being Byakuran lift him up to the sky as—

BOOUUM

—a large crater was created at the former place those two boss of mafia stood, red flame eating the surrounding grass.

He heard Byakuran whistled in amazement and commented their near-death off-handedly whereas Hayato shouted, asking about Tsuna's well-being; levitating in the air with only other person hands supporting his weight after he was basically draining his energy was not a good experience. He saw his guardians make a way for the attacker—in Hayato case, completed by a stream of profanities because he  _dares_  attacked his beloved Juudaime. He was irritated alright—a very familiar one at that, Tsuna could only let out another high-pitched scream.

" _TRASH!_  YOU  _DARE_  RUINED MY NAP?"

Xanxus's also here?! Tsuna was  _totally_  screwed!

"Haha, Mukuro and Xanxus really love to sleep!"  _Takeshi! Your comment didn't help at all!_  Tsuna mentally cried.

(At least he didn't look so scared now. His contraption was the palest than the other, it didn't suit the always smiling Takeshi)

"Another weak herbivore," Kyoya concluded before continuing his fight with the illusionist and ignoring Xanxus heated glare.

The scarred spiky, black-haired man pointed his dual gun, charging it before releasing the most potent wrath flame to Tsuna, who manage to swerve to the right accompanied by his famous Dame shriek; well, he was still wrapped around Byakuran arms, so the one who actually evaded his irritate attack was the marshmallow lover. Xanxus clucked his tongue, red eyes roar furiously, "stop moving,  _scum_! Or I can't shoot your small brain!"

Tsuna's mind translates that rude statement instinctively, "I'm worried but I'm not going to admit it because  _I'm_ Xanxus and I'm cool with it!".

BAAAM

Another explosion could be heard, and from Tsuna point of view, he saw a large, drenched turtle grew in size fast enough, crushing everything that stood on it ways.

"Enzooo! I'm sorry Tsuna!" And he could hear a frantic scream from afar.

Tsuna groaned. That was Dino.  _Totally_ Dino, he was the only one who was crazy enough to accept the monstrosity of a turtle-who-could-grew-and-sink as a pet. At least Romario was near him, Tsuna wants to believe because even the self-proclaim brother of his was calm and collected, he couldn't manage to survive till this far if he went to the forest alone; he was still asking himself how could the Italian blond never realized his own clumsiness. Even Tsuna was not that clueless.

And within a second, chaos ensued.

"THE FOREST GOD WAS ANGRY! CALM HIM DOWN!"

"Haha, you knew it was Dino's pet already, Hayato!"

"EXTREEEMMMEE!"

"Oya, oya~ it has turned too rowdy. Let's get out of here, Chrome."

"Hai, Mukuro-sama"

"Herbivore, I'll bite you to death for disturbing my fight."

"Wait! Kyoya, I just came here to check my brother! Can you, at least, let me take a breath first?"

"No."

"Trash! I said  _stop_  moving!"

"He's right, Dame-Tsuna. Stop running away and face the enemy head-on. Or  _else_."

"I'm not the one evading the attack, Reborn! I can't do anything in this position even if I want to!"

" _Ne, ne,_ let's buy a pack of marshmallow, I'm hungry~ Oh, and Yuni say hello to all of you~"

While Enma just stood there, unscathed amidst all the ruckus his guardians, the Varia's leader, the hitman, the boss of Cavallone and Gesso Famiglia made. He scratched his cheek, sweatdrop on his forehead, "ee...what should we do now, Tsuna-kun?"

Tsuna sighed. He really loves his family.

"GRAAAAA" still enormous Enzo—somewhat forgotten by his own owner, who was trying to save his life from a bloodlust Kyoya right now—let out a roar.

But sometimes their behavior was too much to take.

* * *

After one frantic call from Shouichi asking his boss whereabout, from Kensuke begging his forgiveness for not by his side as he was having an important exam right now, Squalo's loud arrival and a stream of foreign cursing from the said long, silver-haired man—being Xanxus couldn't shoot Tsuna down, he poured his irritation to his right-hand man instead ("VOOOII! Stop shooting, shitty boss! You looks like a petulant kid!" His remark then rewarded by another jet of wrath flame)—Tsuna successfully hushed them down at last. Takeshi invited everyone to rest inside the family dojo, they want a full explanation of why Tsuna lost his flame control; though he and Hayato have a vague feeling of the reason.

A very disgruntled Kyoya muttered about the impasse match with his ex-mentor (he swear he'll beat him one day) fished out his phone. And with a short of 'I have a meeting' to Kusakabe, he hn'ed and walked away from the crowd; his gakuran billowed dramatically. The petite teen ask Byakuran to let him go, "hmm...but flying was more efficient, y'know?" And without warning him first, the Gesso's boss was flying away, accompanied by Tsuna's famous shriek. The Italian bomber ran after them, cursing Byakuran all the way.

When they finally arrived at their promised destination, Mukuro and Chrome were the last to came like always, Tsuna wiggled out from Byakuran's death grip and seeking a haven between Hayato and Takeshi; the Mare ring's holder cooed from the cuteness, Tsuna denied it vehemently with a glared—though it looks like a pout.

"Oy, explain from the beginning why you deign yourself high enough to awoke me from my slumber, scum!" Xanxus gruff out, hands folded behind the spiky hair as he lay down on the tatami. Tsuna's hyper intuition translate it as "if someone dared to hurt you, Imma shoot them without mercy.  _Nobody_ mess with my  _family_!".

So, with a deep breath and Reborn's urging, Tsuna begin telling his yesterday tale. He apologized to his family firstly, and the majority of them just laughed it off while the rest grunted in acceptance. Then he told them that his wild emotion was caused not by his own problem but another person; they nod in understanding, recalling his strong projected though minutes ago.

After that, he narrated the main problem; about him being bullied by older senpai—Tsuna frantically assured them that he was okay and Kensuke-senpai was there to help him just as he saw everyone was tense and rigid, hand curling around their favor weapon. He sighed in resignation as Ryohei let out another particle of sun flame, double-checking his well being. Before he nodded and declared the result was negative, then they relax; Hayato grumbled about thanking the kendo captain for the next time they met. About a badly injured teenager fell from the tree and Tsuna brought him back home, so his mother could patch him up properly. About a sealed sword that was definitely the blue-haired boy's property—

Tsuna immediately stops, drawing curious looks from others. Enma glanced at Reborn, the greatest hitman in the world was there with Tsuna side that time, he should have known something. However the said kid just shrugged his shoulders, sipping a hot espresso Yamamoto single-handedly made for him (not as tasty as Tsuna was, but it'll do), black beady orbs alone told them to ask him themselves, he'll not open his mouth.

"VOOI! So what happens next?" The loudspeaker (a nickname sponsored by Yamamoto, his own pupil) asked, annoyed by Tsuna's reluctance.

"He was tortured, right?" Everyone's head whipped to stared at the heterochromatic eyes teenager; face unusually blank. Chrome shoulder tensed and Mukuro, sensing this, rested his big, warm palm on her shoulder, rocked her up and down in reassurance, "that's why you hesitated to tell us, hm?"

 _Us_ , uttered in bold means not all of the one who presents, but only those two,  _them_. Tsuna nibbled his lower lip, looking at his two mist guardians in worry. Mukuro's last memories of his innocent childhood were waking up strapped on a metal table, scientist hovered onto him. While Chrome had her own share of mental torture by her own parents.

"It was then that...Rin-san was having a terrible seizure." He stole a glance at the pineapple-haired style teenager. He was edging Tsuna to go on, that he and Chrome were  _okay_ and didn't need his concern at all; hand still held the meek girl close to him, "the power sealed into his sword was reacting. And when I tried to...woke him up, his...thought? Memories? was washed inside my head."

"It was vague, but I saw two men; one was old enough to be his father and the other one looks so much like him albeit have a difference in hair and eyes color." Tsuna's mouth quirked up a bit, "maybe he was his older brother."

Nobody missed the used of past tense in Tsuna's sentence regarding the boy's family.

"And then his...memories, yeah, memories shifted to him chain on the wall." Unconsciously, he gripped the hem of his school sweater, digging into his own skin, he grimaces. The temperamental right-hand man of his was overwrought as he asked his condition in low voice, so unlike him. Tsuna shook his head in apprehension, plastered a small smile that told him he was fine. He has to rein his flame down, or else he'll harm his  _friends, family, mine!_  again. He took another sigh, however even then his breath was hitched, it sounded like a muffled sob, "I couldn't see it very clearly, because it was so jumbled, cropped up here and there. But...I can feel his emotion."

Tsuna draws the first thing or person near him to calm his nerve— _no, don't come out, my flame. It's dangerous for my family_ —and a coincidence really, that it was Reborn who he hugged tightly, he buried his chin on the ex-baby black fedora. Reborn should felt insulted—because he was the greatest hitman in the world. Everyone should have feared him, not cuddling him like a stuffed bear—however, he just wiggled his still-small-but-no-so-much body for a bit before sitting in comfortable position on his student's lap. Oh well, Tsuna never cradles him like this again after his growth spurt, Reborn will overlook it, this time only.

"He was calling for them, you know? Hopefully,  _desperately so_! But they'll never answer him...not now, not  _ever_."

 _Because they were already dead_ , was the first thought that flashed through their mind, no matter how Tsuna didn't tell them specifically.

An awkward silence was blanketing the whole Famiglia, they were unsure how to comfort the still preoccupied with his own dilemma Tsuna. Hayato could only press his body further to his boss's side, and Takeshi rubbing a circle on his back. Tsuna was famous for his kindred soul, he is too _damn_  nice, he always manages to found a loophole on stranger's melancholy story of life so he could blame himself. And that kind of attitude  _frustrated_ Reborn. In his life of a mafia, the leader of dark society even though Vongola finally begins to change back into their vigilante ways like 400 years ago, someone was bound to having a mistreat. Life was never fair.

Because life is  _not_  a fairytale.

And Xanxus  _understood_  that  _very_  well.

"Tch! Pathetic!" His menacing voice rang through the whole dojo, snapping them up from their own though, wide eyes. Tsuna himself looks very hurt, but the scary Varia's leader only hmp'ed, push himself and sat cross-legged as he stared deadly to those hurt looking honey-brown eyes—guilt was eating him away, bear in mind his rude comment was the one who made him look like a kicked puppy. But he'll never admit it outright because he  _is_ Xanxus! "I mean it. You're pathetic for thinking that he was broken beyond repair!"

"You saw his first reaction right? As you walked in when he was staring out the window? Remember that he swung his sword fast enough, you didn't realize it till the weapon was in front of you?" Reborn remind himself to drill another reflex training for the international mafia leader after this problem was over, "trash still got spunks, do you think he'll appreciate a pity from a scum like you?"

Tsuna's beautiful orbs were opened inch by inch, Xanxus's own red has piercingly gazed on him, "and the most important things was, he  _escaped_  his torturer. And came out  _alive_. If you really want to help him, never mention his injuries." Xanxus traced the X mark on his tan face, Tsuna mentally cringed, "rather, you  _smile_ then  _talk_ about shit, that's the only thing you  _scum_ can do anyway."

 _You should embrace him if you treat him like one of your family_ , his brain again translated,  _because you're_ a S _ky._ Sky  _should lead the astray element to the right way._

Tsuna was stunned for seconds. Then he chuckled, before it turned into a full-blown guffaw, his figure bent down to smother his laughter down. Xanxus was right. How could he forget? He  _is_  a Sky. He shouldn't indulge oneself in self-guilt like this, it will only drag another element as his companion down. The still clumsy boss release his hold on Reborn—he grunted, missing the warm already though he'll never admit that and hop onto his shoulder instead—being he stared at Xanxus own, smug flashed on his brilliant shade of red orbs as understanding washed those pair of honey-brown round glass.

"You're right." Tsuna smiled, calmly and peacefully—he unconsciously let out the sky's ability of Harmonizing, his family yearned in contentment, "thank you, Xanxus."

...

BOUUUMMM

_"EEEEPP!"_

Tsuna stared in horror at a hole on Takeshi's family dojo paper wall—while the said owner just laughed. He's too carefree for Tsuna's taste,  _damn it!_ —before looking back at the older teen, slowly backing up.

"Now, after all this mushy crap finally end..." Xanxus cocked his dual gun, a smirk adorning his scarred face, "for disturbing my nap, you _have_ to fight me!"

"Hieee! You didn't have to quote Kyoya's catchphrase!"

"Hn. For comparing me with that weak herbivore, I'll bite you to death."

 _"HIEEEEE! I_ SHOULDN'T  _HAVE SAID THAT!"_

* * *

An intense and grueling fight with Xanxus or Kyoya, or Xanxus  _and_  Kyoya later, consumed one half of Yamamoto's family backyard—why couldn't they mad or at least complaining about the destruction they made? Even Tsuyoshi just take one look and shrugged his shoulders before preparing another batch of sushi for after battle meal—and half a day, Tsuna realized the blue sky change into orange hue; the day finally over. Byakuran, after another bone-crushing hug and an enthusiastic pat on the head, flies back to Italy. Xanxus scoffed and dragged the angry Squalo by his hair, and they're gone without words. Dino and Enma have their share of the hug with Tsuna before they too, went back to home.

Tsuna's guardian, after checking that their boss was finally calming down, nod and disappear with their own way; Kyoya jump to the top of the tree and was gone. Mukuro and Chrome left in a swirl like always, Ryohei shouted about manly jogging and ran away screaming his famous word, Takeshi was already in his home anyway and, after walking them to the front house, he went to the kitchen to help his father preparing a dinner. Hayato insisted on walking his boss home, much to Tsuna exasperation—he was like a mother-hen to Tsuna. They mainly talk about school on the way home, being they were missing so much today and Reborn will never allow his pupil to fell down on his studies. Talking about that sadistic Hitman, he now made himself comfortable on Tsuna's wild tame of a hair and interjected their impromptu learning here and there.

They stopped on their track, however, when they saw Nana was out from her house, still wearing an apron and holding a soup spoon, looking very worried.

"Okaa-san? What's wrong?" Tsuna attentively asked.

"Oh, Tsu-kun there you are." Nana approached them, her smile was a little strained, "Rin-kun was gone."

"What?!"

Nana cupped one of her cheeks, oblivious to Tsuna and Hayato growing alarm, and Reborn narrowing eyes, "after I was done changing his bandage, I went to the kitchen to prepare a dinner. But then, Fuuta came to me and said that the guest room's window was open and Rin-kun was not in there anymore."

"Are you sure, Okaa-san?" Tsuna brows merged into one, concern was eating his conscious away again, "just an open window and nothing else?"

Nana hummed and nod, "his sword was not in the room also. Oh, I'm so worried. What if he injured his legs again, jumping from the window like that?"

While Nana was absorbed in her own dilemma, Tsuna and Hayato shared a glance. Hayato opens his mouth, but Tsuna makes his move first, cutting whatever words he wanted to blurt, "no, Hayato. I'll search for him."

"But, Juudaime—"

" _No_. Rin-san was hurt, and I believe it was not self-inflict." His eyes were dark for a minute, recalling those awful bruises adorning his whole lean figure, "and...judging from his reaction to me this morning, maybe he has a trust issue..."

"So, I'm going to look for him.  _Alone_." Tsuna said, with a finality in his voice. He stumbled when Reborn who was still resting on his head kicked him though, sending a silent glare despite the victim of his sharp kick didn't need a double check to ask what his problem to punished Tsuna without reason "and Reborn also. He'll look for me."

Hayato clucked his tongue. He was worried about his boss, dammit! Never in the past years, Tsuna lost his control of fire like today, even when the silverette was injured in the mob attack months ago and Tsuna's inside beast was awoken. The first time he ever does that was in the first day Tsuna's coronation being held; two of the leader mafioso Famiglia didn't accept him as their international boss because he's still a kid and didn't suit to wear the humble coat of Vongola!  _Look at his guardian, those children. And one of them was an S-class criminal and a whore's kid_  (Hayato flinched, fingers curling so tight it pierced the palm). He remembers that he almost threw a couple of bomb to those pesky little family—not for mocking him,  _never_  for mocking him, but rather because they were looking down on Juudaime, on their beloved boss. But Tsuna beat him as he narrowed his golden eyes and flame  _flared_  like crazy.

Like the little brother of Poison Scorpion, he didn't care about others opinion of himself. However, Tsuna was disappointed. They were still narrow-minded it seems, saw someone else value base from their appearance only; by the cover,  _never_ from the inside. He was  _really upset_ , that he lost his control along somewhere.

And his guardians responded by  _flaring_  their flame also—so  _bright_ , so  _majestic_ , so  _beautiful_! Like a  _rainbow_ and vast  _sky_  as its background—It made the jaws of the mocker slack open in disbelieve.

He never saw those two in Family's meeting anymore.

But as Hayato saw a determination in those eyes, he huffed in acquiescence. Whereas Tsuna made up his mind, he'll never back away from it. And as his storm guardian, as his right-hand man, as his  _friend_ , the only thing he could do was shake his head and smile albeit begrudgingly, "okay then."

Tsuna's lips quirk a bit and, with a glance toward his mom, who's still gushing over the lost child, he said, "I'm gonna find him, Okaa-san! Don't worry!" Then dashed toward the way they came from just now.

Vaguely, he heard his mother call him back with 'take care' and asked Hayato if he wants to stay for dinner. While the said bomber just flustered and denied with little too much vigor. It's not like he refuses Nana's kind hospitality, especially her heavenly food—ooh, especially  _that_  heavenly food. But, he got a news that Bianchi came back from Scotland today, as she went to grab a rare ingredient for his next poison cooking. Hayato's stomach grumbled in anxiety.

Looks like his trauma of his own sister didn't fade for a bit even after all these years of fighting alongside her.

* * *

_A small kid with brown gravity-defying hair tried to muffle his cry inside the playhouse, as his bully roam around, searching for their favorite victim._

Why? Did I do something  _wrong_  for them to always hurt me? _A lone tear rolled down on his chubby cheeks._ Leave me alone _._ Leave _me_ alone _._

_._

_._

_._

_But I_ hate _being_ alone.

* * *

The brunette ran ahead with one purpose in mind. His hyper Intuition roared impatiently, telling him to go fast,  _faster, come on! Move your legs faster, goddammit!_  Reborn clutched the tuft of the brown lock, his pupil was moving  _too_ fast, it almost like he used his flame to boost his speed. Reborn want to ask his student where they're heading, but seeing that focused glint, he clamps his mouth and decide to wait.

And Tsuna himself was now drowning in his thought, he let his reflex lead his leg away. He has a feeling, didn't need the help of his sharp intuition even, where is Rin-san right now.

_._

_Tsuna hugs his knees near his chest, crying softly._

_._

Well...he has his own problem when he was still a Dame kid.

And  _that_ place was the only place that could calm him down before he went home to greet his oblivious but nice mother.

They arrive at an abandoned playground, Reborn rose his eyebrows in elegance, silently ask what reason Tsuna have to visit this unattended place; seesaw rusted after years of neglection, merry-go-round stop moving, swingset creaked when wind blew it strong enough, slide was full of dust, jungle gym's paint peeled off and sandbox was empty of sand. What a  _pitiful_ place for children to play, as wild grass grew everywhere his black beady orbs could catch.

But Tsuna walked, step unwavering, approaching the playhouse in the corner of the field. He stood beside it for a while, face contorted. Before he cupped his mouth side to side and said, "Rin-san! I  _know_ you are there!"

Reborn sharp hearing heard something like a rustle fabric—huh? So here's the missing kid, "can I go up?" No answer. However, Tsuna was not deterred, as he slowly but carefully, climb up the ladder and mumbling something like "it's okay. I just want to talk with you. Please, don't run" to alleviate the boy's fear.

When they were finally on the top, Reborn saw him. The blue haired teen was curling in the corner of the playhouse's wall made of wood. He was embracing his knees and head on it. But those electric blue eyes—so  _sad_ , so  _lonely_ , so full of  _distrust_  toward other people—tracked their movement like a cornered animal. Reborn wants to scoff, he couldn't defend himself in a stuffed place like this. Especially as he has a katana as his weapon; a long-range weapon that's it. Though, he'll let Tsuna handle this kind of trouble, as he's the master of reassuring someone, even the temperamental Xanxus—the said brunette now sat two meters away from the scared child being when he wants to walk closer, Rin's finger twitched toward his weapon that lay between his lap and stomach, a silent order for Tsuna to stay away.

Tsuna smile reassuringly, Rin  _unconsciously_ relaxes his muscle, "what are you doing here, Rin-san? Okaa-san was worried."

Rin shut his mouth up, didn't even bat an eyelash.

"you know? This is the same place I always visit when I have a... _problem_." Reborn note a tone of uncertainty from his pupil. Was Tsuna talking about his childhood? Those black glass took a dark turn.  _Oh ho?_  Looks like someone need a beating.

In another place, Tsuna ex-bully  _sneezed_.

"When I was still a kid, this place was fun, with other children playing around. Usually, I hang around the sandbox as...umm...they didn't ask me to play with them." Reborn cracked his knuckle. After this is all over, he'll  _interrogate_  his student, "Okaa-san always urged me to find one or two friends. But my kid-self was not like today, he's very shy and clumsy. Well, I'm  _still_  clumsy now haha."

Tsuna saw Rin''s electric blue orbs widened and his head now perked up, eager to listen to brunette's story ( _so similar with mine_ , Rin thought,  _but also so different_ ), "it's... _lonely_. Only by myself inside this playhouse, waiting for my...problem to go away. I thought...I'm going to grow alone, die  _alone_..."

"But, you know, Rin-san? Even world was  _not_  that cruel.  _Someday_ , you'll find what you're looking for. I know that road will be hard, will be  _extremely_ hard!" Tsuna clenched and unclenched his fist, "however, every problem always has a solution. Every choice you make, it'll lead to your own  _exciting_  story life!"

"That's why if you  _don't_  mind...I want to  _offer_  the first choice that may or maybe not changes your future."  _And I hope will be the better one._  He smiled a charming smile and extended his hand toward him; Tsuna was hurt for a second when he jerked, body tensed and ready to bolt anytime, anywhere. Rin's face was now in full view, eyes still shone in distrust, but Tsuna saw a tiny bit of curiosity there. And—

_Hope._

_(I'm hurting. Someone,_ anyone _, please!_ Please _, save me. I_ beg _you)_

Tsuna mind was made up. And  _nobody_  will stop him.

 _I'll save you. I'll_ totally _save you! Because you're-_

_._

_._

"Would you like to stay with me and my family?"

_._

_Because you're_ important _to me._


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betaed by Notepadhalffull

Tsuna saw his brilliant blue eyes shone with hope. Before realization dawned on him and he growled. It sounded so hurt, so tired, Tsuna flinched subconsciously. Rin stopped, then sighed dejectedly as the light inside his orbs dimmed and he tucked his head between his legs, signaling Tsuna that that was enough, that their conversation was over and he didn't want to see him anymore for now.  _So_   _please._  Just... _leave_.

Tsuna was discouraged, his lips tightened. He wanted to help him. Very, _very_  badly. But 'force' was not the answer to this problem, not for someone who had been hurt for—well, he didn't know how long. Maybe—years, who was abused emotionally  _and_  physically. It reminded Tsuna too much of his two Mist Guardians. The brown haired teen remembered clearly how they behaved at his (overreacted) concern. Chrome kept flinching and clutched her trident too hard, her knuckles turning pale. While Mukuro just stared at him, posture rigid but heterochromatic eyes calculating like Tsuna was some difficult puzzle he had never encountered before. And that made Tsuna furious. Anger towards their abusers, except his worry for his  _friend, family, mine!_ wellbeing overwhelmed him. At least it reduced his urge to maim someone; preferably the people who claimed to be the shy but kind girl's parents (well, some scientists too. But Mukuro had wiped them all from the existence of the earth already. So, yeah).

It took Tsuna two years and a hell lot of persuading for them to finally realize that their boss' kindness was genuine and without any hidden intent. He knew as Chrome kissed his cheek, again (and he flushed supposedly hard when Reborn took a picture of him. Of course for another collection of Blackmail he had on Tsuna) and Mukuro pats his hair in an affectionate manner (and his creepy laugh was nowhere to be heard, it made Tsuna suspicious actually. Because Mukuro is cunning, sly fox, that's why. When he wanted something done, he'll act nice. There was also one time when he didn't mock Hibari for a whole day so Tsuna will accept two stacks of paperwork, containing his report of his mission and the destructions that never failed to follow him—Tsuna still sulked though, he cut Mukuro's free time for one week and punished the pineapple-haired teen to help him finish said abomination).

Judging from his reaction, it'll be hard to coax Rin. It'll be hard to reassure him. Tell him that everything will be okay. That nobody will hurt him now. That he'll be safe. That he'll protect him. Or  _so, help him—_

Tsuna winced when he registered a sharp pain on his side. Reborn had flicked his head to wake him up from his stupor. Looks like his emotions got the better of him again, the Vongola boss mused, blood trickled down and stained his palms; no doubt he was pissed, he unknowingly clenched his fist too tight. At least he didn't lose control of his flame like this morning. He didn't want to subject his family to that pain again.

"Let it go, Tsuna." Reborn whispered, "he'll not relent. And it'll just turn worse if you force your way on him, even though your intention was good."

Tsuna knew. Of course, he knew that already. But no matter how many times he reassured himself that Rin was strong, he'll never succumb to darkness, his intuition—that kept exclaiming 'help him, protect him, protect,  _protect, PROTECT!_  (sometime Tsuna wondered that the voice inside his head will be the death of him one day. He kept worrying over his family, it was  _not_  healthy)—will not stop tingling. Reborn rest his not-so-tiny-anymore hand on his gravity-defying hair, a silent signal for him to back down today.

He let out a sigh. Best to comply for now. And his tutor was right, there was no point to push his opinion on him. On someone who had been betrayed for who-knows-how-long.

"Well, I gotta go home, Rin-san. But, y'know..." he offered a small smile, even if the boy himself couldn't see him, "my offer still stand. You...really can live with me and my family."

Honey-brown orbs teen saw his body tense, fingers curling on his sword that still concealed by a red cloth. But that was it. Rin didn't move, nor lifted his head. Tsuna's shoulders sagged for the second times. As he climbed the ladders down, he stole another glance at the blue-haired boy lean figure, who was still clutching his entire body like a lifeline. He looks so tired, so haggard but ready to defend himself from unwanted surprises or emergency situation. Tsuna's eyes hardened, it fills with determination. Despite Rin's refusal, Tsuna will still be going to save him. At least from his own suffering and self-hatred. If he could persuade Xanxus—the volatile and ever so quick to anger like a cub throwing a tantrum, Tsuna described one time—to learn what love and peace are (cue a gagging sound by the said Varia's leader), then so would Rin.

Even if he dies trying.

* * *

Rin cuddled into himself tighter and tighter. Body quivering, shoulders hunched as he wrecked into despair. His beautiful blue orbs lost their light. He looks so lost, so downtrodden, so broken.

"Home?" he laughed dryly, like he was mocking himself and in turn, only made his situation worse, "how can I go home?" he whispered, voice cracking. A lone tear rolled down his pale face.

.

.

"When it never existed in the first place?"

* * *

Rin stumbled back, pupils shrinking, jaw-dropping, as he saw his own reflection in the mirror. He was horrified. He was confused. Yet, he was...happy?

Horrified because what happened to his tail? It didn't get chopped up as those blasted goblins surrounded him when he was trapped inside that dark and weird dimension, right? That was a scary thought. Imagine, Rin was awake and aware that one of his limbs was being pulled out harshly without consideration. He winced. The pain coming to be unbearable. Confused because this is not a (bad? Good?) dream, right? About him losing this particular limb or him having it in the first place for the past years. And happy because well, if he lost his tail then...then—

.

—he is a human, right?

.

However, no. Not now. Now, he has to go. He has to leave this humble house with its humble occupants too. Rin didn't want to besmirch this home sweet home any longer with it (yeah. Rin is an 'it'. Not 'he'. He acknowledge it himself) mere existence. He wants to at least thank them, especially the fluffy brown haired teen; Sawada Tsunayoshi. Because he was the one who found him battered and injured, brought him home so his nice mother could patch him up. Without the said boy snitching him to the exorcists, or worse, Grigori co. Maybe he was scared of Rin—because what kind of human has (had?) a tail as long as a feline?—wary that he would lash out at him when Tsuna told Rin he knew and reported it to authorities? Or he took pity on him so he shut his mouth?

Rin shook his head. Nah, he preferred the previous one. As it made a lot of sense to him than the latter. No other being, be it human or demon, has a positive view of him.

Huh? Now, wait a minute. If his tail was long gone without him noticing it at all, then what was it that Tsuna saw that time? When he said something was circling his body?

But no matter. He didn't have time to think about that small issue. After he gathered his bearings, breathing in and out, in and out, he exited the bathroom. His narrowed eyes land upon a wardrobe made of hardwood in the corner of his temporary room. As Rin opened it, he saw clothes hung inside; though the variety of it was kinda in the same league, it was basically just some white T-shirt and baggy pants with a bright orange as its color. Not Tsuna's, because the size was way too big. Rin didn't know where his own clothes went. He had a feeling Nana threw them away, however, seeing as they were full of holes and claw marks from the ugly Goblin that chased after him. And beggars can't choose, right? So this will have to do.

Rin gets dressed quickly, snatching his sword—still covered by the red cloth. And wasn't that weird?—then went to the open window. This time, nothing was going to stop him; not his own petty feelings, not the child seeking for attention, not a caring mother that came to change his bandages. Rin saw the street was empty. And his demon hearing caught the low voice of the Sawada matriarch and her kids far from the front yard. In the next seconds, he jumped, nimbly and swiftly, a soft thud of his feet covered by house slippers land onto the grass. Without being prompted by his instinct, he ran.

Ran and ran, with no knowledge of where to go at all. He had one final goal in mind, of course. Leave this foreign yet nice town and find his own home; the church his father, his brother and himself lived before, the church that had been abandoned for years as they were kept busy by their exorcist training—and paperwork for Yukio. All of the pastor slash caretakers were told to move out when Shiro was...gone, for the lack of a better word, as Rin still couldn't believe it even after so many years and blamed his egoistic behavior that day till this time.

Rin slowed down, breath ragged and sweat drenching his back. He hadn't felt this tired after two years of training under Egin's tutelage. That, and his stamina was far beyond ordinary human in the first place, the reason was his heritage as a half-demon. Maybe because of his physical injuries. Or every surprise he encountered thus far exhausted him mentally. But he didn't have any time to rest. He has to keep moving. He has to go.  _I have to go! Or else_ —

"Uum...excuse me?" Rin startled when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder, so bad he whipped his head too fast, he was sure he got whiplash just now as he felt sore on the base of his nape. Right in front of his peripheral vision, he saw a brown-haired teenage girl wearing a uniform and a blue sling-bag draped on her right arm. Her face was scrunched up in worry, hand hovering in the air, weary to touch Rin again when the said boy reacted so badly—sword pointed forward, eyes narrowed and looking very menacing—but very much wanted to gush over him, "are you okay? You look...very pale."

Rin was silent for a second, wary of the stranger in front of him. But curious as to why the girl decided to approach him in the first place. And where was he anyway? As his breath finally evened out, he heard the chitter-chatter of people talking around him. Too tired to even put his guard up, Rin moved his head. And realized that his legs had brought him to the middle of shopping district.

He ignored everyone's stares and looked around, satisfying his curiosity by taking everything his blue orbs caught; and that was a lot since his vision is enhanced by the demon blood inside him. Even when the sun had almost set, most people still lingered around the buildings. Some teenagers, guys or girls, visited the cafes around or the nearby cake shops. Some old lady carrying a shopping bag buying ingredients, for dinner tonight of course. Or children bawling their eyes out so their parents will buy them the toys they desired. The market was full of laughter, blasted with positive energy, the ex-exorcist let out a contented sigh, albeit a little chocked, one.

In Gehenna, he felt nothing but dark aura. The air itself was filled with hatred, anger, jealousy, there were too many negative vibes that demons carelessly poured out, he lost his count. He remembered how his complexion turned to the dark hue of purple, it felt like an imaginary pair of claws was strangling him, and will never stop until he keeled over and died in vain. He remembered how Iblis laughed boisterously at his expense when Rin locked himself inside his bedroom, curled into a tiny little ball as much as he could under the blanket and tried to breathe normally; he didn't care when the Demon King of Fire mocked him, however. If it wasn't for Egin's calming nature, be his flame or his way of talking—oh  _so soft_ , like a parent singing a lullaby to his crying baby—the older brother of Okumura (because he refused to acknowledge Satan as his father. And never shall it be) didn't believe he will ever adjust to the realm of demons.

Not that he was happy by the end of it though.

Rin turned his attention back to the girl, being he remember that she was still waiting for his answer. He lowered his weapon, vaguely realizing he was garnering other people's attention as they started whispering, fingers pointed at him. Better watch out from now on. He didn't want someone or anyone to recognize him and decide to call an exorcist. Rin nodded, eyes distrusting but he tried to give the girl the benefit of the doubt, "I'm...alright." well, for now.

The girl smiled brightly, it made him stumble back. Rin didn't know a mere smile could be that dangerous, "okay then. I have to go now. Don't push yourself, alright?" she admonished, waved at him for a bit and then walked away.

Rin stood motionless, stared at the brown haired girl's back with jaw slightly dropped.

What...was that?

(It didn't come to his mind that the girl was just a very nice girl, that she didn't want anything from him, that she was just worried about him).

(But that was understandable, really. Love, affection, those kinds of feelings were foreign for the new Rin; for Rin, that had been tortured and unloved for the past two years).

The blue-haired boy shook his head. For the confusion he felt after the encounter or maybe the headache that decided to visit him because he was thinking too much, he didn't know. He felt so drained. Rin strayed his orbs for another round, again absorbing every detail he could get from the beauty of the earth, of Assiah, of his home. Maybe...maybe he could rest. Yeah, he could rest. For a little bit. Maybe then he'd feel invigorated enough to continue his journey. And a tired body could muddle his brain too, and that's a complete no-no.

So Rin took a little walk. He wants to bask himself with their—humans, the purest being God ever created—happiness, their carefree smile. He let their voice entered his hearing. It also calmed his erratic heart, his mouth tugging upward bit by bit, blooming ever so slowly on his milky, white face.

This. This, he could get used to. And with his tail, the very existence of that limb hindering his activities for the past years (finally) gone now, now...

.

He can live happily as a normal human being, right?

.

He should have known not to get his hope up too much, and the disappointment he felt would be twice as hurtful than he could ever imagine.

Rin rounded the corner, and was met with an electronics shop brimming with customers; they were having a sale for their grand opening. Bickering, friendly banter, laughter were carried over by the wind, it sounds so peaceful. Rin contented himself by standing around the shop for a little bit, hearing people asked the clerks about those electronics spec or price, or family asked their member to decided what kind of television or computer or DVD player they wanted to buy.

He remembered when he was still a kid—when he was still in kindergarten, still pure, still innocent—he and his little brother loved to join Fujimoto on his visits to the mall. He remembered, he and his little brother liked to run along the aisle full of electronics, saw it lit with ads, movies or sometimes, cartoons they love to watch after school. He remembered how excited he was that time, being surrounded by 'magical boxes full of surprises', Fujimoto said—and corrected by Yukio, that it was a television and nothing of it was magical at all (Rin punched Fujimoto's stomach, agitated that the old man dared to lie and the said person laughed uproariously). He smiled wryly. That time was very precious to him. And because that was precious, it also hurt. Hurt to mention, hurt to remember, hurt when he realized...

That it was all just a memory. The real thing, the real persons he spent his time with inside that memory—

.

—was long gone.

.

The ex-exorcist let out a frustrated growl, hand messing up his own blue hair. No, now's not the time to feel depressed, to wallow in his misery. Rin sighed, before he straightened up, intending to walk away. He should check other shops while he was here, even though he wouldn't buy anything. Maybe when he was busy window-shopping, someone would take a pity on him and give him some food or, at least, snacks to munch on. He was starting to get hungry anyway.

However, something stopped him in his tracks. Something petty for other people, but very important for him. Being that 'petty thing' can change his life—for the better or not, he didn't know. For now—change his entire look on the world. That nothing was ever easy. That everything will have its own problem to face and solved. That his status of half-demon, his mere existence was still very much hated. That God despise him so much he decides to pull a fast one for him—

Rin stared at the news, dumbfounded. The blue-haired boy laughed nervously, flailed his arms in denial, pinched his cheek, hard and grimaced.

Then realized, yes. Yes, this is real. No matter how much he wished for this to be just a nightmare, he couldn't escape. Not from reality.

His pupils contracted, blood drained from his face. Before he ran.

* * *

Body still hunched up, hands intertwined each other, securing his legs between the said arms and his chest. Rin, very much asleep, mumbled, eyebrows wrinkled into one, "it didn't exist. It never existed..."

.

November, 19 20xx

.

"My house never existed ten years ago."

* * *

"You're up early, dame-Tsuna."

The said boy laid on the bed for a couple of minutes, staring at his room's ceiling; his wandering mind counting the roof tiles—there were thirty tiles up there—and watched the lamp swaying back and forth. The early morning wind blew the curtain inside, birds chirping melodiously out there. No matter how peaceful the situation was, however, the only child of Sawada felt nothing but that.

"Well, I can't sleep very well actually. So, I kinda stayed up all night." Tsuna sheepishly admitted. He got up from his bed while scratching his neck. He swung his legs down, feeling the cold floor seeping through his skin. Winter rapidly approaching, it seems (what about Rin-san? He was out there in this kind of weather, alone. He must be shivering so badly. Should he bring him some blankets for him before he goes to school?).The mafia boss watched Reborn tidied up his hammock in silence, orbs rolling left and right, following the hitman's hands movement raptly.

"Hey, Reborn." His tutor hummed absentmindedly, "I'm worried about Rin-san."

"I realize. You really are such a worrywart." Reborn took apart the sniper from inside his duralumin case, inspected it while cleaning it before he nods. Finding there was nothing wrong, he put it back and pick another gun he has, "but like Xanxus said before, he can protect himself. What do you think his sword for?"

"Well, yeah. But still..." the bed creaked under the lost of the occupant's weight. The ex-Arcobaleno hopped onto Tsuna's shoulder, petting his chameleon pet affectionately while Tsuna climbed down the stairs to get an early breakfast. He could already smell his mother's exquisite cooking, it made his stomach protested loudly. Still wearing his star-pattern pajamas, Tsuna greeted his mother, who answered his not-so-energetic greeting with her own melodious one. The Sky flame user sat in front of the dinner table, a plate of breakfast—fill with sunny-side egg, two bacon, and a toasted bread as a side dish—already laid upon him (again, what about Rin-san? He didn't have any lunch, not with the one he brought to the blue-haired teen yesterday was untouched, nor any decent meal for the whole day to fill him up. He must be  _very_  hungry right now), "what if...Xanxus was wrong? What if...the worst scenario happens?"

Because he knew damn well from the experience, knew that not everyone was as stubborn as the leader of Varia to keep living no matter how cruel the world treated him. Knew that, even someone as happy go lucky as Takeshi reached his limit someday; Takeshi, that nearly killed himself over in the name of baseball, over something that was unexpectedly frivolous. He was afraid Rin decided that, this is it. This was his limit. This was the end for him. Even his hyper intuition was in jumbled ( _he'll be okay. But he'll be in danger if you don't save him now. Don't act rashly. However, please take action soon, or it'll be too late_ ) it didn't tell him the concrete answer at all. That was just giving him more reason to fret over the unknown teenager.

Reborn didn't say anything. He sat there, in his chair, looking unperturbed. Seems normal enough from other people perspective—just a child eating his own breakfast. Yet, for Tsuna who knew him from the past years, he recognized the look on his tutor, that he was having the same though; fedora lowered for millimeters as he mulled over something.

Tsuna chewed on his lower lips. His mother was no different. When he told her that Rin-san will not come back yesterday—for now, he wants to believe that—she looked conflicted. That expression didn't last long though, before her angelic smile back at full force. Said that that was the boy's decision to have a dinner with them or not, so  _come inside, mama cooked a hamburger steak just for you, Tsu-kun_. His mother was worried, that much her one and only child could tell. However, she tried not to think about it too much or her other (adopted) children will be sad for her. Just like before.

Just like when Tsuna—

"Go take a bath, dame-Tsuna." Reborn's slightly high-pitched voice aroused him from his reverie. The sun Arcobaleno raised his bowl and asked for a second serving. Which Nana obliged whole-heartedly, "maybe some cold water will freshen you up."

Well, Reborn was right. Maybe a splash of water on his face will chase away the wrinkle of worry that steadily growing on his pale skin. So, Tsuna did just that. The boss of Vongola mafia went back to his bedroom, took a bath, dress up before concluded that he was ready to go to Namimori High School, albeit a little early.

"Here, Tsu-kun. Don't forget your bento~" his mother said, a box wrapped in orange cloth dropped onto Tsuna's stretched palms.

"Thanks, Okaa-san. Ja, ittekimasu!"

Perhaps his torturer slash tutor called them beforehand when he was still occupied in the bathroom, but Hayato and Takeshi were waiting for him in front of the gate already. Or maybe his Guardians developed their own intuition, as they were mysteriously always there when something bad happens or Tsuna was late even for a minute or two. That wasn't really a stretch, right? Being the overprotectiveness tendencies they grew on him. Nonetheless, Tsuna begins their track to school accompanied by his Storm and Rain famous banter.

When they arrived at the T-junction, he stops. Tsuna stared at the left path. Vaguely realized between his friends bickering that that path was where the abandoned park was located. Where Rin-san stayed all night long. Afraid and alone.

"Jyuudaime, what's wrong?" the first one who aware of his silence was, of course, his right-hand man.

"Hm? Oh, no. Nothing, really." Tsuna smile, trying to reassure them. Though his wandering gaze did nothing but caused them to look at each other in concern.

"Tsuna." Now, Takeshi's voice could be heard. His serious tone—not the one he used in an emergency situation or when someone thoughtless mocked one of his family members however—garnered the fluffy hair boss attention. Takeshi sharped gaze lock onto his own soft honey-brown colored one, "if you have some troubling problem, please don't hesitate to tell us. Bottling it up is not healthy, y'know." Surely, he spoke from experience.

Tsuna blinked and opened his mouthed to say something within the line of 'nothing's wrong' or 'there's no problem, really'. But thought better of it and shut his lips with a click. That...maybe true. If he kept worrying over the sorrowful teen, Tsuna will lose his focus. He didn't want to be left behind by his classmate regarding school's lesson. Not when he barely understand it as it is.

"Well, if you don't mind...will you two stay here for a little bit?" seeing their eyes took a turn into alarming one, gaze narrowing, their boss waved his hand dismissively, "Nah, that's okay. I'll be back in a sec." And before his overprotective Guardians could protest any further, Tsuna was already gone.

They didn't have any time to fuss or catch up on to him, however. True to his word, the petite boy was back within seconds. They want to ask, check over him to see if he sustained any injuries over his split second of disappearance—Hayato looked like he wants to call Ryohei here ASAP and do the scan very, very thoroughly. Yet one look at Tsuna's relieved face plus his sunny smile, they knew that whatever it was, he solved it already. And the result was very satisfying.

"What are we waiting for?" the boy with gravity-defying brown hair's flame  _purr_  in contentment, "let's go to school!"

* * *

 _Rin walked away from the clearing. Even if the purple haired girl was not finished talking with him, he had enough. Just seeing her beautiful face before the final battle was enough for him. Enough, for a_ sinful being _like Rin himself._

_As he was meters away from her, he could hear Izumo's uttered words. Despite low and cracked, his demonic hearing caught it easily all the same. And with that words alone, Rin felt guilt, guilt, guilt grew within him._

" _How could you say that after all this time? And expect me to forget it?" Izumo's voice was shaking, "you didn't consider my feeling at all, stupid Rin. That it wasn't only you..."_

_._

_._

" _That I,_ myself, _very much lik—"_

* * *

He blinked, orbs narrowed at the unopened box that rests comfortably near his curled up legs. When he woke up this morning, very much with blotched eyes, Rin already found that thing nestled not too far from him. It wasn't something drastic like a holy water bomb or bomb itself, that much he was sure. Being his nose caught a nice smell wafting out from it (food?). And a note containing a small drawing of a person he knew for a while though a little cartoony.

.

_Here's some breakfast for you, Rin-san. Please, eat it. I don't want you sick. I hope you like it._

_Tsuna._

.

It didn't diminish his wariness toward the said breakfast, however. What if the nice boy finally decided that Rin is indeed a threat to humankind? That it was time to eliminate his existence from Assiah, from the Earth, from his home? He'll never know what kind of poison mixed in there. Maybe laxative or, worse, the holy water itself; that'll totally wreck him inside out, he shivered just by imagining it. Even though his metabolism was stronger than any other human in the first place, it was still hurt and painful. If he neglectfully consumed a huge amount of the weird chemical, although he's a half-demon, Rin will still need a medical help.

The blue haired teen huffed indignantly. No. Tsuna might be nice—the nicest person he ever encountered beside his own younger brother and, maybe, Izumo—he'll never take the chance though. And he wasn't hungry anyway. So another day without food was—

GROOOooowwwlll

It looked like his stomach disagreed with him.

Purely, Rin wanted to refuse. He rather starved than eating an unknown meal. But... he rubbed his stomach when the said main problem let out another rumble. The older Okumura took another long look, as he gulped the dry saliva that caught inside his throat. The fragrance of the food was alluring, his hand reached toward it unintentionally. Later he stopped, realized that the danger (or no danger, Rin didn't actually know) was still lurking there. Should he risk his own health to fulfill his desire of finally,  _finally!_  having a decent meal after the past two years? Because even if he became accustomed eating demon's meat...well, actually no. There were times he still vomited in disgust when his bud tasted it. So, no. He'll never, ever,  _ever_ , have become accustomed to that abominable..thing. That food wasn't accepted by his standard at all.

GROOOooowwwlll

Okay,  _screw it_.

Rin untied the cloth knot, opened the cap and was attacked by the heavenly aroma full force, he started drooling. Using a disposable wood chopstick that came within the packet, he picked one of the tamagoyaki and dropped it into his mouth. Eyes widening, teeth stop chewing, "This—"

.

.

"— _is_ good! _Was it really you who made this, eyebrows? Are you sure Ukobach didn't help you when I and Yukio look away?"_

 _Izumo, the said eyebrows, his classmate who like to style her long purple hair into twin tails or sometime ponytail (and the girl he also_ loves _with all his heart), huffed. She was wearing a pink apron—the one Bon gave to him for his birthday gift (kind of insulting, for a boy to wear a pink apron, but Rin was actually very happy even when he display an annoyed expression on his face that time. Because this is the first time, the first person who he could call_ friend _gave him something without demanding something in return)—as he waved the ladle she used to cook a bit frantically._

" _Of course it is! It wasn't nearly as good as you," she said. Ukobach, that was standing around the corner nodded his big head vigorously in agreement, "but I've been practicing this whole week!"_

 _The Tamer girl was having a trouble with her exorcist homework this time, so she went to the old dorm room where Okumura's brother lives and consulted it with Yukio slashed their teacher together. After a while, they decided to relax. And surprise, surprise, Izumo insisted on preparing the lunch for the two of them. She said she was the one who unceremoniously barged into their dorm while they were just having their supposed free time after finishing their exorcist job. And said that this was her payback at least, so_ just sit there and let me cook, you monkey.

" _Don't lower yourself that much, Kamiki-san." Yukio responded as he ate the fried rice with scrambled egg Izumo made from the ingredients Rin bought. The bespectacled boy was silence for a couple of minutes, savoring the tasty rice slowly yet surely, "I'm sure you'll surpass Nii-san someday. If he was this lazy and never have any intention to improve himself at all."_

"NANI? _" apparently, Rin took offend on that statement, "oh, no. You don't! I'll not allow it! As long as I'm here, nobody but I, is the master chef in the world! Oh, and you too, Ukobach!" he added with a smile after he saw the fire demon pointed at himself, question swimming around inside his black beady eyes._

" _Well..." Izumo drawled her next sentences, "at least you have one capable talent to be proud of~"_

" _Hey!"_

 _They laughed when Rin puffed up his cheeks, he almost looked like a chipmunk. While Izumo and Yukio decided to discuss their homework over their lunch, Rin himself stuffed her hand-made cooking as much as he could inside his gaping maw, "but really, eyebrows! Your cooking was amazingly good._ Truly _, it was..."_

.

"...delicious."

Tears after tears after  _tears_ rolled down, they wet the collar of his borrowed T-shirt. His vision became blurry, face turned red. Yet, he  _didn't_  care. He  _didn't_  care when his head started to hurt. He  _didn't_  care when his shoulder quivered as he sobs loudly.

He stuffed another food, "delicious."

Another, and  _another_.

He  _didn't_  care when two of the many beloved people of his flickering in and out in front of his hazy gaze. He  _didn't_  care when he vividly could hear their laughter inside his pounding head. He  _didn't_  care when this food, this amazing food, remind him of home. Remind him with one of his painful yet  _precious_  memories. Remind him  _that_ , once again,  _everything_  was real. That no matter how much he denied the actuality—

—everything he holds dear was already  _gone_.

And... _another_.

"Truly...delicious..."

.

.

 _He just..._ didn't _want to care._


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betaed by Notepadhalffull

Takeshi knit his brows together, lips curved down. He observed his friends behind his short bangs; the bento gave him the pretense of an ordinary teenager having a nice meal. He saw how Hayato begged—practically  _forced_ —Tsuna to take his lunch, while the brown haired boy declined it politely and kept eating the melon bread he bought before the morning classes.

People may know him as easy-going, baseball lover Yamamoto Takeshi. They may know him as a carefree person who cares dearly for his dearest comrades. But carefree is  _not_  the same as clueless. He may not be as observant as Tsuna, or as smart as Hayato, but he has his own sharing. The Rain Guardian knows it was  _unusual_  for Tsuna to forget to bring his lunch. Especially that heavenly food—oh, especially  _that_  heavenly food. Takeshi just repeated himself, but he couldn't help it. Nana's cooking is  _amazingly_  delicious, even his dad always has the biggest smile whenever Tsuna visits them with homemade food.

The only explanation is that Tsuna gave his lunch to someone.

And—based on yesterday incident, a small satisfaction he felt from his bond with his family—Takeshi thought, he knew who that lucky person is.

They wanted to ask about yesterday fiasco this morning too; no matter how much Hayato denied it ("As long as he didn't worry Jyuudaime too much, then he's not my fucking concern." or something along that line). But they felt the uneasiness from their connections. Nothing too bad, judging from the fact that Tsuna's smile was not forced; and Takeshi knows what a 'forced smile' looks like, as he'd worn that mask for almost half a year beforehand. It still worried them naturally, he decided to annoy Hayato, so they'll start to banter and maybe it will take whatever Tsuna had on his mind away.

Even though in the end, he would have to confront the problem himself.

Maybe Tsuna realized he was being watched, or at least his hyper-intuition warned him, he turned his honey-brown eyes to him. Where Takeshi schooled his expression and grin before he ate another tamagoyaki ( _hmm, sweet_. Just as he like it). Tsuna tilted his head, trying to gauge whether he had faked that quirk of his lips or not, then shrugged. Takeshi didn't fake his laugh, not anymore. Especially not in front of his family. And boy, how grateful he was, that with their presence alone, he can relax. He can be _himself._

So back to the topic. Takeshi was sure that Tsuna gave his meal to Rin this morning. Or more specifically when they separated on that T-junction for a minute—Tsuna must really want to give him a heart attack, pulling that stunt. So it was not a plan from the beginning, he can tolerate that. What troubling his mind is:  _why?_

Hayato called them yesterday. He said that the boy ran away from Tsuna's home and that  _made Juudaime's mom and Juudaime himself worried sick that stupid bastard!_  Hayato may curse and spat at the stranger boy. But judging from his tone, he's  _worried_  about his whereabouts too. And not in "he's- an-unknown-enemy-so-we-have-to-watch-over-him-and-make-sure-Juudaime-is-safe"  _way_  but in "I'm-worried-for-the-health-of-my-family-but-I'm-too-proud-to-admit-it"  _way_. And it kind of puzzled him. They'd never met this  _boy_  before. Even Tsuna's story is _not_  enough to make them care as one of their family—but enough to care as a civilian that need to be protected. But Hayato worried  _for_  him?  _That_ Hayato who took  _years_  to finally relented and admitted yes,  _yes_  he has a family now no matter how much he whines about it? Much like Hibari and Mukuro?

And speaking about them, they must _also_  notice the hidden worry beneath his tone. Because in the next second, they tried to cheer him up in their own way; Hibari called him a weak herbivore while Mukuro snorted and laughed annoyingly. It distracted him long enough, those three started a verbal war, while Ryohei shouted 'extreme' every now and then.

Why, though? Rin decided to run away? Judging from Tsuna's story and a little talk with Nana yesterday morning, his injuries are  _so_  bad, it took hours and hours of patience for Sawada matriarch to treat them. He should not be walking around _._ Scratch that _,_  he should not be waking up within a day _._

Takeshi tried to take another bite of his lunch yet bite on nothing. Too caught up with his thought it seems, he practically ate the  _whole_ thing in a trance. Now his friend totally aware of his strange behavior, as they shot another glance at his direction; Tsuna looks worried and Hayato annoyed. The baseball lover just waved them off.

 _Really,_  there's nothing to be worried about, he was  _just_ spacing out. Never before he'll be so lost in thought, however, he lowered his guard; not  _after_  the ceremony, not  _after_  he decided to stick around the petite boss and become one of his guardians. As his left-hand man (because Hayato is Tsuna's right-hand man and he wouldn't  _budge_  from his position now or _ever_ ) he has to always keep his guard up  _or_ else assassin will take advantage and  _hurt what's mine_. And the whole 'space out' thingies was because of his family;  _ironically._  What's up with that? Takeshi chuckled.

"Oi, baseball freak! How _dare_  you finish your meal while Juudaime is starving himself here?!"

Seriously _,_  he loves his family.

* * *

From that day onward, Tsuna asks his mother to packed two lunches for him. She understood her son request immediately without the need to explain the reason and, with so much vigor and gusto her cheeks practically turned pink, agreed and cooked basically a feast. Not that he minds, he'll eat as much as his stomach capacity could handle. And there are children here (not including Reborn), sometimes he wonders how could they eat that much food and still have a room for dessert.

Nana then chirped that it  _applied_ to Tsuna either. But  _eh_...don't mind the details.

It becomes a routine for him too, to visit Rin every morning in the abandoned park; Tsuna is so grateful that the dark blue haired boy didn't go anywhere, still hunched inside his 'safe spot'. Though it honestly concerns him too no end being; besides of those meals he brought to him, how did he eat for the rest of the day?  _Don't tell me_  he famished himself? His skin was a little sunken the last time he saw him  _but…_

He looks miserable still, his clothes rumpled and hair askew. At least he ate the bento Tsuna gave to him, judging from the empty box every time he came to visit. The tenth Vongola boss always tried to at least have a word or two before going to school. Rin sat there motionless, regrettably; eyes still distrustful and posture uptight though not as guarded as before.

Hayato and Takeshi keep fussing over his wellbeing whenever Tsuna went of his own accord. And whenever they do that, he just _scoffed_  warmly. They shouldn't overreact like that. He'll just fly away, back to them if he thought he can't handle an opposite Mafioso himself. Tsuna eyes  _flash_  from brown to honey-red colored one, his charming smile look a little  _too_ sharp for comfort. Or and  _especially_  when those enemy dares tries to hurt his  _friend, family, mine!_

His best friends and guardians of Vongola Tenth relented after some days. Takeshi sighed and smile, though it was a little strain ("I'm just worried, Tsuna. He sounds like a wildcard to me, ya know?") while Hayato turned his head aside, didn't want to see his boss begged orbs (if his Hyper Intuition didn't deceive him, it seems like the silver-haired teen was pouting.) More resistance begets more pouty lips and puppy eyes, they realize. It'll prolong their suffering so maybe allowing him doing what his heart whispered was the  _right_  thing to do. And besides, since when Tsuna's hyper intuition _lie_  to him? When that ability rang a bell and literally guide him  _instinctively_ , nothing will stop them even if the end of the world is nigh at hand.

Their bond hum, Tsuna laughed in appreciation; that wide quirk of mouth was pulled so wide, his honey-brown orbs hidden behind the squinted eyes. Takeshi and Hayato almost thought that  _hey_ , their worries are almost worth it.  _Almost._  One week has already passed, and just like always, Tsuna will start his separate way and do his usual business.

Something is different this morning, however.

"You...want to come  _along?"_ Tsuna blinked.

Those three stood motionlessly in the middle of the T-Junction, critical optic scrutinying each other and asking a silent question with perception alone. Hayato nodded, lips thinned and eyes piercing. He clasped his knuckles on either side of his lean body while figure straightened, a form he proceeds everytime he demand recognition, "yes. Let  _me_ accompany you this morning, Juudaime."

Judging from Takeshi tilted head and one raised eyebrow, he didn't see this seriousness he exuded coming also. It's day to day behavior for Hayato of asking Tsuna's permission whenever he tried to do something that involves their precious boss-even if that something was trivial;such as go to the movie with other friends from science club he attend, trying to contact a weapon dealer for bomb replenishment, going to the bathroom before lunch, etcetera. It tired him sometimes, but that attitude is too endearing for him to be mad at. Hayato may be brash, though he was just a little bit paranoid for people in his small circle of friends. Or he'll just resort to stalking them without anyone consent as he was just too stubborn to leave what he considered  _his_  alone. But this time, even the carefree taller teen knew, this request has some  _deep_  meaning beside the usual fanfare of Hayato trying to protect Tsuna from danger; if he wants to do that anyway, he'll just  _'followed'_  the fluffy haired by from the beginning of the week no matter what.

Tsuna tried to stop him once,  _of course_. Yet after a while, he just accepted it. Because, if Hayato thunderous feeling, that their family can feel even from yards away, their harmonized flames told them so, will be composed, then he'll just bear with it.

"Why the change, though?" Takeshi asked, at which Hayato glared. But as always, the baseball lover just harmlessly smile, hands folded behind his head and he leans back, an indistinct treatment of him allowing Hayato to continue. Or maybe an order, if that slowly-forming knowing stare deciphered it so.

"I..." the bomber suddenly hesitated, silver eyes darted around, a nervous tick Tsuna knows he possessed whenever he was cornered. He can see how Hayato counting some difficult formula inside his genius head, finger clicking in agitated tick within the same rhythm he does whenever he played the piano, he was trying to calm the sudden nerve he felt.

"Just… _Please!"_  without answering any question and voice one octave higher, Hayato bowed, immediately hide his painful expression from view, "let me come along with you,  _Juudaime!"_

Tsuna  _sputtered_ , arms flailing as he begs his storm to stop doing that bad habit in the open. He could see from his peripheral how thoughtful Takeshi was; index finger and thumb cradling his chin while those eyes turned sharp, though his charming, friendly grin still plastered on that tan complexion, hiding his real feeling from other people. Eyebrows raised, lips forming an O shape; realization finally struck upon him. Before Tsuna could ask something, his Rain placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, white teeth showing for people to appreciate "Can I come too?  _Please,_  Tsuna?"

The lean boy they ask their request for looks super confused, even his Hyper Intuition suddenly failed him and that kind of scared him (maybe he depend on it too much. But seriously. After a year of dodging every possible fatal injury or, worse,  _death_ —whereas the threat still looms over him like a hawk, remarkably after his ceremony—you can't just separate him from his, can you call it, an  _addiction?_ ). At least his grand-grand-grandfather gift told him that it will not cause any harm to the blue haired boy… _maybe?_  Because even his trusty partner can't say for sure how will Hayato, the emotional brother of Lightning will act, in which Takeshi have no hope to stop him if he decided he didn't like Rin a single bit with his Rain effect alone. Tsuna can and will. Rin is a  _friend, family, mine!_ And he will not let his  _friend, family, mine!_ mimed each other, no matter how bad their relationships are.

He can control the fighting tendencies of Hibari and Mukuro whenever they met. And tame—for the lack of better words—Xanxus and Byakuran from their urges to rules the world. So what's the problem of adding another one to the list?

With Hayato still not looking at him, fist tightened so hard it drain the color from his knuckles, and Takeshi grip on his shoulder trembled, Tsuna finally relented. He didn't know what and why, but they are  _super_  stubborn this morning. And if he didn't decide for another ten minutes, they'll be late—and of course, Namimori beast will wake up and strike them all—Tsuna didn't want to get punished by the teacher for showing up late for nth times too. His Homeworks are excessive  _enough_ , not counting Vongola paperwork that kept piling up every time one of his guardians create a trouble. And don't forget  _Reborn._

Totally don't forget  _that_  Satan direct spawn from hell, he inwardly shudder.

* * *

They arrive at the abandoned park, still deserted and not well maintained. It was such a shame too because this park held some memories for the young Boss. Well, not much of it was fond memories, though it still shaped him to be a person he was now. Hayato and Takeshi swerved their head around, taking every nook and cranny and, shoulder tensed _,_  trying to pinpoint every possible spot for the assassin to hide and launch a surprise attack. Tsuna, less paranoid and walking fast enough he basically skipped, approached the playhouse, bento wrapped with blue strip cloth dangled in his right hand as he waved, "Rin, I bought another breakfast for you!"

A sound of fabric rustling entered their ears, they unconsciously grip their respective weapon. Regardless Tsuna's lip widens, and without waiting any more seconds, start to climb the stairs. He turns his head in the middle of ascending, brown eyes instructing them to stay at their spot without a word. 'I'm gonna see his reaction first. Please, don't do anything rash' their brain mentally translate that furrowed brows. Hayato nod and Takeshi show a thumbs up. Another smile and his petit figure disappeared. Their sharpened hearing—train by the most powerful hitman, for even the slightest bit of sound can mean something. It saves them quite a lot in the past—caught a bit of their conversation; or Tsuna trying to start a conversation with the stubborn teen, asking about his day and  _do you need something? Maybe new clothes and bed to sleep? Oh, I can show you around town today if you don't mind_. While the said teen is silent, they thought Tsuna was talking to himself if the sound of clothes moving around didn't tell them another presence in the vicinity.

Takeshi chuckled. His boss, best friend, and _family_  is so nice;  _too_  nice course, his tutor said that that is the main reason of why he is  _such_  a trouble magnet. Mukuro and Chrome constantly watching over him via telepathy, so Takeshi was not that worry for the stranger boy to suddenly attack the nice boy who just wants to help anyone. If he does though, Takeshi eyes  _sharpened_ , the grip on the baseball-bat-that-will-change-into-a-real-katana-in-one-swing-literally squeezed, they'll count on their Mist to inform them in a blink. He may be Rain, an element of peace and will wash away any torments who stubbornly clung onto people lives and dragged them down to slump. But he's  _also Rain_ , where it'll  _blind_  everyone sight and bring calamity upon those antagonists that deserve no second chances.

So, being nothing wrong and nothing invisible contracted his lungs, Takeshi sits back.

_Anyhow..._

That cheery brown eyes peek behind the closed eyelids, drinking the bomber frivolous act, somewhat digging a hole almost half a meter deep being him keep pacing back and forth, stealing a glance once or twice to the playhouse. Hayato is remarkably weird today, Takeshi admits that. Pretty much everyone can see it from that constricting face, mainly  _that_  wrinkle of his keep piling up on that big forehead. He definitely needs to reduce that fixation. Or that smooth contraption going to age ten times faster and Hayato's fangirl will be disappointed. On the other hands, his life will be a lot less exciting, without that horde of girls following him around like some chicks (pun not intended) in need of food. Their life is exhilarating enough; enemy to take care off, a 'light' spar Reborn presented twice a week, enemy to take care of, helping Tsuna with his demon paperwork (nevertheless, the only one  _capable_ enough to really aid him are Hayato and Chrome, while Takeshi was too busy to sooth Hibari and Mukuro down, Ryohei from joining and Lambo from smearing his grape candy all over their boss work), enemy to take care of, club to be attended after school...did Takeshi mention enemy to _take care of?_

And, Takeshi mussed, he may know what on his brother in arm mind.

It's kinda hard to see because the temperamental boy is  _very_  skilled at hiding his feeling. His thought halt before he snorted, garnering a short glare from the preceding individual. Takeshi knew he just contradicted himself, saying 'temperamental' and 'hiding his feeling' in one sentence. From somebody who also applied a second persona, however, he knew the sign; a sign of someone trying to hide the  _loneliness_  with overreacting emotion. That maybe if he was loud enough, people will take notice of him and fill the too-big gap inside his heart. Could be so, that was the induction of  _why_  Takeshi will annoy Hayato as much as he could. And subtly remind him,  _remind_  him that he was _never_ alone.

A pang of sadness  _washed him_

Before it escalates into full hatred and sorrow  _so deep_ , Takeshi feels like he was staring  _straight_ into the abyss.

As the short black haired baseball player realized he was gasping for breath (dark. It was too dark, it's painful. Who-who's feeling is this? Even Mukuro who died and come back alive from hell didn't have this enormous, putrid self-anger. Takeshi feels like choking;  _make it stop, make it stop, make_ the pain _stop_ —) he barely recognize the fleeting figure of Hayato running away. Yet specifically, running towards the playhouse, climbed the stair two at once he all but leaps through it and lands gracefully.

Hayato saw his boss, back hunched and, he assumes, trying to calm his erratic heartbeat to a normal pace. The cause of his hysterical panic was definitely  _that_ ; that foreign innervation encompassing them, stealing their breath a second too long, uncomfortably closing their respiration. He saw that, he felt that,  _disgusted_  by that. Imagine Tsuna have to endure those agonies. The gravity-defying teen is the  _core_ , the main pole of Vongola family, those  _distasteful_  motilities was twice as painful than that fleeting moment they sensed; it must be a pure, unadulterated  _torture_  for such a tenderly, nice boy.

(His mind, no matter how overwrought he was, wonder  _how_  that unknown entity seeps inside their bond— _their friend, family bond_ —without them knowing. Because they're very protective,  _too_ protective with what they already have,  _too_  cautious for new people to suddenly join in their circle. It takes a while, maybe, but even then the newcomer bond will not be as  _strong_  as theirs)

(Hayato have a hunch—most people didn't call him a genius for nothing. But not now. Now is  _not_ the appropriate time)

And in the end of the building, sat Rin—the blue-haired boy with startlingly bright electric blue eyes—hand outstretched and complexion pale. That gaze of him radiating shock, worried and guiltguilt _guilt_ ,  _I'm sorry is it my fault is it because I'm here should I go away should I disappear maybe I_ should _maybe I really should_ just _di—_

"Don't you dare finish that thought, you  _bastard!"_

Tsuna stifled a yelp, during Hayato suddenly knelt in front of the broken boy, finger latched robustly around the crumpled shirt Rin wore and slamming him back with enough force, the wood crackled. The boy itself  _flinch,_  dull eyes suddenly focused on the aforementioned guest, then dangerously growled.  _Weak,_  but still threatening being he pulled the mouth down, showing his sharp fangs that bit on his lower lips, it drew blood. His other hand suddenly shot toward the abandoned sword, intended to use his belonging so he could push the teen away. Hayato was faster unfortunately, he kicks the weapon away. The long katana which still covered in red cloth flew out of the building and drop uselessly on the dirt below with a small  _thump._  Rin's orbs widen per millimeter, shock numb his movement, words of utter disbelief won't even came out. Before he returned his sight towards the angry delinquent and face the accusation full force.

 _Fear, anger, vengeance_ , then it settled on  _resignation_.

 _Acceptance_  of his doom and that eyes—that eyes that are so different but familiar in a way at the same time—literally begged him to just... _end it_. End it  _here_. End the suffering. End this endless torment he  _inflicted_  upon this sunken body because he was  _too_  scared. Too scared to do it himself. Since he was a coward. A pitiful,  _useless_  being that needs no remorse and should have never existed.

His stomach dropped a notch, it  _sickens_  him.

"Don't you dare...Don't you FUCKING  _dare_  finish that thought of yours..." Hayato snarled, green bright eyes  _clashed_  with that foggy blue eyes as the second pair widened, he visibly quailed. Hayato ignored the tremble and wincing body he held for dear life, as knuckles tightened, he could felt the nails are actually piercing the thin shirt. Or his grip was just too strong, "Don't you  _realize_  the implication of why Juudaime deigns himself to bring you that bento every fucking morning?!"

"He CARES about you. He freaking  _cares_  about you! And  _then what?_  Just cuz your family  _dead_ , you decided to mop around here like a damn weakling? " he heard another gasp from behind, chagrin. No wonder Tsuna thought his word was harsh. But Hayato pays it no mind.  _This_  boy, the foreign boy who got the attention of their admirable boss, who can literally light the whole dark underworld with that honest smile alone, who can literally down their enemy with a stare alone. How dare he ignored all of that and  _just_  "you... _you—_ "

"Learn to appreciate what you have before you lose it again _, goddammit!"_

.

Tsuna finally understood

.

_Aah...he still beat himself even now, huh?_

.

Hayato breath raced, face flushed in anguish and—Is that  _resentment_  he saw flashing on that sharp glare? The grip slackened and Rin's body slumped on the corner of the hardwood, bangs shadowing his peripheral and mouth agape. They sat there, staring—or glaring in Hayato case—at nothing entirely. Nobody makes a sound, not even a peep. Before Hayato  _tch_ ed and jumps down, ignoring the ladder completely. He briskly walked away and head to the school, neglecting Takeshi call nor Tsuna's following after him.

The swordsman stood awkwardly, contemplating what to do next, besides going to their study place quickly or else they'll be late and Hibari will have a reason to bit them to death. Of course, he heard everything, being Hayato practically hollered; the power of his exclamation startled every being in proximity, he saw two or three birds that were perched on the tree before flew away, frightened. Slender hand scratched his non-itchy head, chewing the bottom rim in consideration

"Rin-san, isn't it?" silent answer him, but Takeshi knew the boy heard him clearly, "Hayato is not as different from you as you thought he was."

"I'm not gonna said it. It his problem. He didn't even tell us,  _his friends_ , one month ago. Tho'..." that forlorn expression he bear seconds ago vanished. It still held a little sadness in that tan aspect, thought a small sense of pride can be found. Gentle breeze kissing the skin, some dried leaves flying around and gave the sense of pacific atmosphere, "even he can stand up, you know?"

And Takeshi was gone, leaving the still broken boy, mourning in the lonely playhouse in the lonely abandoned park.

* * *

Hayato was angry, no, he was  _seething_. Blue sling bag of him slapping against his back, feet stomping like a petulant child. The fluffy brown haired boy still calling his name with that worried tone he  _despises_. It didn't suit him, never should exist for such a bright individual.

Especially of how he was the one who made Tsuna felt that way, made Tsuna concern for his frantic mood. When he directly swore to himself that time, that time as he declared to be his right-hand man, to not distress the wonderful teen who secured him with open arm; so warm, so  _accepting_ , he never forgets that sensation for the rest of his life, will always be treasured, will always be  _preserved_. For the person he cherished, how  _dare_  he burdened him this much?

But that blue haired boy image keeps coming back and the only thing he could do besides screaming like crazy is gnashing his teeth so hard he could hear them crackling under the pressure.

"Yeah, and you'll destroy them in a minute if you don't stop that. Do you want to be a grandpa that much,  _hmm?"_

" _Shut up,_  Mukuro!" Hayato grumbled, berating himself to scolded the pineapple-haired jerk inside his mind only, sans people will stare at him and will question his sanity, "stop invading other people mind without their permission! You look like a stalker"

"Kufufu you really should see yourself in the mirror,  _stalker-san~"_

Hayato punched his palm, it produced a smack so loud, Tsuna cowered.  _Damn._  It really was not as satisfying as he punched the man himself. Maybe he'll visit Kokuyo land this afternoon. And he can release this built-up energy inside his jittering body. Maybe redecorated their hideout at the same time. That place is a  _mess_. Cup noodles everywhere, empty bags of snacks thrown haphazardly and the sun couldn't even shine that building properly, with tall tree covering almost nook and cranny. How could they live like a hobo and have their clothes still looks that pristine  _every_  day? Maybe he used an illusion to covered their battered appearance? That bastard is that  _cunning,_  he says.

"Hey _,_  I don't mind having someone to play with, but leave our clothes and home alone" why does Hayato have this image of Mukuro pouting right now?

"Stop reading my mind,  _kuso yaro!"_

The presence Hayato felt shifted—again, he has an image of Mukuro changing his posture from the tattered sofa he called his throne to more comfortable one.  _Seriously,_  why does that picture that involved the heterochromia teen keep popping out?—Mukuro hummed, a swishing of something can be heard; he's twirling his trident maybe? "your fault for waking me up this early in the morning. You and Tsunayoshi should  _really_  keep your feeling in a tight lid"

 _Said someone who kept riling the Prefect every time they met._  His amusement and his anger are very palpable, very existing, and  _too_  common already they started to ignore it after a while, treat it like a background music buzzing in the distance. That doesn't mean it didn't annoy him sometimes. It really distracting when other needs to concentrate on the exam; not for himself, he could answer everything in his sleep. Japanese curriculum was that easy, he kind of miss the Italy school he attended

Judging from his laugh, Mukuro heard everything Hayato's inner mussing. Again. The nerve of that guy.

His semi-run slowed and it became a leisure walk after a while. Tsuna finally caught him, his breathing steady, never displayed to the other who caught a sight of him that he has been running for fifteen minutes tops. Hayato could sense the burning scrutiny he directed at him; and with that alone, his resolve to bottled everything inside started to crumble. Yet Tsuna opted to stay quiet and walk alongside him. The silver-haired teen halts the smile, appreciating the gesture. Juudaime is so nice, Hayato mussed, it warms his cold visage. He'll talk, but  _not_  now. He wants to stew for a couple minutes or two inside his mind,  _alone._

Well, there's Mukuro, the stalker bastard. Still, beggar can't choose. It's his fault otherwise if he prefers to stay and receive every torrent of curses in different language Hayato will release in a second.

That boy— _Rin,_  he reminds himself. No matter how weak, how hopeless, how  _broken_  a person is, a name is _still_  important. It builds who they are, being the thing they experience will always be acknowledged with that name as the title. Like some kind of a novel whereas the author needs to summarize everything within a single word— _polluted_  him. No,  _not_  just him. But his entire family, even the annoying Mukuro and the berserker Xanxus. It amazing how a sob-story of some stranger distorted their perception like this, whereas Xanxus's situation didn't  _even_  deter him. Granted, the brother of lion lover was an enemy that time. And you can't really sympathize with him if he kept shooting that wrath flame, with you trying to evade everything to keep yourself  _alive._

When Tsuna start telling them the stranger he picked up and care yesterday, he could felt lump started forming, butterfly fluttering inside his stomach. That life-story of his so different but so similar. Albeit pieces here and there are missing, Hayato body  _straightened_ , sweaty palm clamped on his either laps that were folded. Nobody acknowledges his unnatural reaction that time—maybe Tsuna. Because he spared him a glance, afore he was back to the story—but it was there.

.

He doesn't have parents.

_"Papa. Where's mama?" Child Hayato asked, green orbs stared wide, full of innocent_

.

He lost his only family

_"Why is the piano lady didn't come today?" child Hayato rest his chubby cheek on piano keys, "I missed her"_

.

 _I miss her, I miss her, I miss her_ so _much. Why did you leave me, why did you leave_ me, _mama? I'm lonely. So, so lonely. Please come back._ Please _, I beg you—_

.

"He was tortured"

.

.

And then everything  _crashed._

.

.

The atmosphere back there was tense, he could literally cut it with a knife. No one talk, no one even dares to breathe but Tsuna choked sob. Hayato mind  _whirled._ Dangerous thoughts flashed inside his genius brain, filtering every important and non-important detail he needs to remember or need to discard. Question after question kept piling up, still no answer to offer, it was  _so_ frustrating.

Why? Who _is_  he? Where is  _he_  come from? Why did someone torture him? For information? But he was just a teen! Is he dangerous? Or  _worse._

 _And_ worse.

.

Is he...unwanted?

.

 _(Just like he was? Just like Hayato_ was _?)_

.

Those speculations were spinning and spinning and  _spinning,_  his vision started to blur. That unpleasant memory, why did it resurface after all this time? After everything he does to forget, after every battles he had to endure, after every scorns he had to soaked with no comeback or else he will just give them the hard evidence and justified the means, after every injuries his figure embrace, after everything. After  _everything!_

Hayato needs to calm down. He may not be able to affect other so much when he was upset. Nevertheless, they still felt the nagging feeling of someone in a bind, that something occupying one of their family conceptions. He didn't want them to come here and start badgering him with uncomfortable questions (not that because he didn't want to worry them, mind you). It was hard, however, the boy existence really screws anything he builds these past years. Hayato may be wrong. Maybe he still has a  _family_  out there—just like Hayato who still have Bianchi (he'll never admit that poisonous sister half related to him  _though_ ), sans he has another now—maybe someone waiting for him. But he was just too tired for the betrayal, for the disappointment, for the rejection, for the painpain _painithurt_.

Rin reminds him with his past-self too much.

Maybe that's why he suddenly felt this insecure? Maybe he saw himself and then thought 'Is my current family really _my_ family? Do they really care for me, just as much as they claim to be?' And the need to prove it to himself overwhelmed his rational thinking, prove it by slapping the grueling fact no matter how much Hayato hurt the morose boy? He physically blanched, fist crushing his bag strap.  _Oh Kami,_  he was terrible. You didn't just mock someone who just lost everything and get away with it without any penance or anything. Nothing gain without pain, he knew. But that was just plain cruel. He was ashamed,  _but—_

"You okay now?"

Hayato blinked, become conscious of not only Tsuna but Mukuro ask him the same inquiry. The slender boy with eyes so honest, it started to hurt, Hayato felt like it stripped him naked; nothing could be hidden,  _nothing_ could be lost. Callous hand curling around two of his finger, bestowing pleasant and encouraging feeling that push him to nod his head. He felt... _better._  Still punching himself mentally for scaring the life of a wrecked teen, but better. It was wrong for him, he knew. He knew that, thought Tsuna didn't even chide him. Didn't even scolded him or calling him a heartless bastard. Instead, those honey-brown orbs were full of understanding and wise knowledge. Saying that it was not his fault at all, so  _stop hating yourself and stand straight up, okay?_

(And Hayato have a feeling that words were directed not only at what he had done the past fifteen minutes before, but for  _that_  too)

Hayato  _groaned._  Now the guilt return ten-fold. He has to apologize. After school. Even if he has to grovel and plead, he  _swears_ he'll apologize to Rin.

" _Guys!_  You have to be quick!" Takeshi suddenly ran past them, cutting his thought. He turned his head around, shows them his regular blinding grin, "five minutes or we'll be late!"

"Hieee, are you  _serious?!"_

"Have fun~ Oh, and give my regards to little skylark, hm?"

 _"Shut it,_  Mukuro! And  _wait,_  you baseball nuts! Come on, Juudaime!"

Well _,_  he has to pray for his safety first beforehand. Hayato hopes he'll still alive after all this mess have been taken care off.

* * *

Rin still hasn't moved, stuck in an almost catatonically state. He watches his own hands, open and closed, open and  _closed_ , face expressing tableau of horrified bemusement. His back hurt after the boy pushed him and his ears ringing; maybe because thousand of coal tars won't go away and keep hovering around his pointed ears. Those tiny demons really love to talk, one time Rin thought to abuse that power and tell them some embarrassing moments his friends had so they could fly and  _just_  gossip. It was worth it because sometimes some of the news was delivered to his friends and they will flush red, they basically boiled themselves in mortification. That elicited a small laugh from his cracked lips before he sobered again.

(That was a fond memory)

(But that was it. Just a memory. A  _precious_  memory but  _hurt_  all the same)

Today, like any other day, Tsuna came and gave him his mother alluring cooks; the only things that kept Rin alive because a demon—a _monster_  like him—still need to eat. He felt bad for that, felt bad for wasting his precious times and definitely worried those two rays of sunshine of people that help nursed him to healthiness. But today, he sensed something  _different._  Rather, as his ears twitched like a cat, he realized the nice fluffy boy brought someone. Rin curled into a ball, nails unconsciously dug into the battered body of his, numerous torn of unorthodox feeling spasming, it clouded his mind.

He knew from the smell  _(bright_ , like a  _sky_.  _Beautiful_ , like a  _sunset_. And  _warm_  like a  _family_ ) and his pitter-patter of footstep, it was definitely Tsuna. Thought who's the other—two people? They may move silently, but his demonic heard it nonetheless—accompanying him? Rin gulped, sweat starts rolling down from the temple. Did...Tsuna finally give up? That he finally get sick of him and decided to tell Grigory co. his whereabouts? Are those two people... _exorcist?_  Will they kill him? Or will they captured him and  _interrogate me and torture me, like Iblis did—_

_._

_Red fire—water splashed—he_  screa—

.

"Your breakfast, Rin. My mom made you a Salisbury stea—are you okay?"

Rin gasped _,_  he hunched his back a second too fast, eyes flashed in dire scared. He didn't even hear Tsuna coming, but here's he was; wearing his school uniform and plastering a worried glance every time he saw Rin's crumpled appearance. Hands trembled, expiration hitched ( _is that concern real? Is he pretending?)_ he doubled up on himself more.  _At least,_  Tsuna didn't advance any further from his usual distance, so Rin could breathe a little safer. But he was so tired; tired of this suspicion, tired of this doubt, tired of this life keep scamming on him. Tired of…well,  _everything_. That's why he didn't realize the outcome immediately when he hides his mouth behind the folding hands, mumbled something without thinking, Tsuna eyes benignly widen _._

"You don't have to come here anymore. You have your friends. I'm nothing but a pathetic  _being_  anyway."

The next thing was a blur. He remembered the nice, fluffy boy suddenly drop and clutching his school pocket (or heart.  _Did Tsuna have an illness?_ ), face paled significantly and sweat starts rolling down without pause. He remembered a stranger—another teen with silver-haired so bright, it hurt his demon eyesight. The same bright green eyes with the same pain reflected on his own—shouting at him, yelling at him, pouring every bit of his anger towards him. He remembers another voice—calmer, softer, full of understanding and encouraging—calling him and speaking to him, like a father trying to say to his son that 'you already do your best', 'I'm not disappointed at you', 'you just need time', 'I'm here, always behind you to catch you if you feel you want to _rest_  for a bit'.

He surreptitiously realized his sight began to fade. And felt water start dripping out on the palm of his full-of-scratches hands.

 _I'm really useless, aren't I,_  Rin thought sardonically. After didn't-count-anymore years he was searching for support, for  _acceptance_. And when they came, he  _pushes_  it away

Rin was just scared. He was so scared. So very, _very_  scared

He clasped his hands close, wiping the tears at the same times. As he slowly, painstakingly stand up, Rin began descending the metal stairs. He has to get his sword back or bear the consequences someone stealing it for a yen or so. Alas, he couldn't let the only thing his father bestowed to him lost. The only thing that holds his entire existence, the only thing that was there to remind him the cruelty of life, the only things that fool everyone into thinking that Rin is a normal human being; not a half-demon, not a monster,  _not Satan son_. The only thing that was his anchor, that will keep him down for falling and falling and falling into the deep,  _dark_ valley.

_But he is human now._

His hand halt in mid-air.

_He doesn't have any tail, nor his fangs, nor his horns._

His heart thumping in dread, fright, anxiousness, anticipation and—

_Nor his fire._

—hope.

_._

_The night before the fate, the remnant of Okumura family decided to rest. On the top of their own dormitory building, Rin staring at the sky while hands combing Kuro's fur absentmindedly. Yukio was back from the kitchen, Ukobach riding on his shoulder. He offers a cold, melon juice to his older brother, who thanks in return, complete with his famous toothy grin._

_They sat in complete silence, watching the starts blipping in and out of existence, breath puffing creating a small cloud in the wind of the night. A shuffling, silent movement, the cawing bird that flies high through the city and the busy town that never rest. Just a regular yet comfortable day, a calm before the storm_

_"Hey, Yukio. Humans...are_ nice, _right?"_

_The bespectacled teen hummed and took another sip of his apple juice. Rin clutched his Karakura tight, eyes glossy but lips trammel in determination_

_"So...I can believe in them,_ right?"

.

"I can believe in you, _right?"_

As Tsuna unconsciously gape, Takeshi blink slowly and Hayato in the process of bowing, Rin embrace his anchor like a kid hugging his favorite toy and stood in the middle of attention.

.

.

 _I can believe...in second chance,_  right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yeah. I'll remind you guys that this fic will be mostly about Rin and Tsuna's family daily life. So there will be no special chapter such as Halloween special, Christmas special etc. Except as I decided to update the next chap it collided with those special days.


End file.
